Thatched building fire in Arkesden

Update 31st March 2021 - Station Manager, Nick Singleton carried out a follow-up visit at The Axe and Compasses today. Emma and David Christou said "Thanks again for all of your teams’ efforts in saving our beloved pub. We really appreciate their hard work and calm, professional approach they all displayed."

Update 07:40 - The fire is now out. A single crew will remain on site for now to make sure the site remains cool.

Update 21:30 - Incident Commander, Craig McLellan, said: “Crews worked really hard today and used a collaborative approach to tackle the fire as effectively as possible.

“Due to the thatched roof, the fire spread quickly and unfortunately both the roof and first floor fell in. Crews will continue to be on-site, damping down any hotspots until tomorrow morning.

“We’d like to thank members of the local community who were on-hand to collect furniture salvaged by our firefighters to a designated safe space away from the building. When disaster strikes, it’s heart-warming to see communities come together to make a positive difference.

“Our thoughts go out to the long-term Landlord of the Axe and Compasses, where 150 people were due to eat for Mother’s Day today.

"It's looking like the cause of the fire was accidental, but a full investigation is being carried out.”

Update: 20:00 - We've reduced the number of crews to two, and they're continuing to make steady progress. We've got further relief crews taking over at midnight, and then another changeover at 4am.

Update: 17:00 - The roof and first floor have collapsed. We are currently arranging 5 relief crews to take over at the scene of the incident while we continue to extinguish the fire.

Crews from Saffron Walden, Newport, Stansted, Old Harlow and Harlow were called to a fire in Arkesden this morning when a building with a thatched roof caught fire. A water bowser from Halstead also attended to improve the quality of the water supply.

We were called at 11:39 when a passerby noticed a fire in a building on Main Street, Arkesden in Saffron Walden.

On arrival, crews confirmed that 55% of the two-storey building and 100% of the roof were alight.

This incident is on-going. At present, the building has collapsed at the rear. The first floor of the building is heavily smoke-logged and has suffered extensive water damage as a result of the fire.

Further updates will be provided as soon as possible.