Shed fire spreads to bungalow

Firefighters were called to a fire in Clacton on Monday evening after a fridge freezer ignited in a shed.

Control teams were alerted after a neighbour immediately called 999 after seeing the flames. The occupant of the property was out at the time.

Crews reported on arrival that the fire had spread to the adjacent bungalow.

Firefighters worked hard to stop the fire spreading further, and managed to contain it to the external area and roof of the bungalow. The fire was extinguished by 10.56pm. The shed has been destroyed.

Gary Clarke, Watch Manager at Clacton Fire Station, said: "Crews did a brilliant job of preventing this fire from becoming even more significant.

"We believe it started after a fridge freezer in the shed, which did not have enough room for ventilation behind and around it, overheated and caught fire.

"This can happen more easily than you might think - so please, keep the area around your appliances clear. Unless they need to be kept on, turn them off when you can."

You can find more home safety advice here.

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Some of the firefighters called to this incident are on-call firefighters, who all live or work within 5 minutes of their Fire Station and attend incidents.

If you live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter too.

Find out more about the role at essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call