Crews have praised a resident after he followed safety advice when a fire started in his home.

Firefighters from Colchester, Tiptree and Nayland were called to a house fire in Bluebell Way, Colchester today (Thursday 14 April) at 1.05am. 

A laptop left charging on a bed had overheated and exploded, setting fire to bedding.

Watch Manager Darren Holliday said: "The occupant was woken by a loud bang and shortly afterwards heard his smoke alarm.

Firefighters have highlighted the importance of having working smoke alarms following a fire at a bungalow in St Osyth today.

Crews from Clacton were called at 11.50am after reports from a neighbour that they could hear a smoke alarm going off. There was no one inside the semi-detached property in Kincaid Road as the occupants had gone out.

Firefighters were called to a fire in Sheering earlier today after embers from a fire pit spread to a house.

On arrival, crews reported that external cladding on a house was on fire and worked to extinguish it by 1:45pm.

Firefighters believe the fire started after embers from a fire pit spread to the cladding. 

If you’re planning to have a bonfire or use a fire pit:

Update 7:30am

Crews worked throughout the evening with site staff to extinguish the fire and left the scene at 1:30am.

Firefighters will revisit the site at 8:30am to make sure the scene is still safe.

Watch Manager Dan Hart from Southend Fire Station said: “We want to send our thanks to the staff that worked with us throughout this large incident, particularly on the machinery.

Firefighters are advising residents to place bonfires and fire pits well away from any flammable materials like sheds, fences, trees etc after a fire in Writtle in the early hours of this morning. 

Crews were called to East View, Writtle at 3:32am where a fire had spread from a garden to fence panels and to the roof spaces of two houses.

On arrival, crews reported that the fire was affecting three properties and requested the help of Brentwood and Ingatestone fire stations as well as an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) from Grays Fire Station. 

Crews were called to a flat fire in Chigwell last night, when a toaster caught alight and destroyed the family kitchen.

Firefighters were called to a fire in a ground floor flat in Chigwell at 8:30pm, when a smoke alarm alerted a mother to a fire in the kitchen.

On arrival, crews confirmed that there was a fire in the kitchen, caused by a toaster and the property was heaily smoke-logged.

Firefighters from Loughton (ECFRS) were joined by three crews from London Fire Brigade who worked quickly together to extinguish the fire by 9:05pm.

Firefighters were called to a kitchen fire in Brightlingsea this afternoon after items left on the hob caught alight.

On arrival, crews reported that a kitchen was smoke logged and gained access to the property.

Crews worked to extinguish the fire by 2:43pm.

Firefighters believe the fire was caused when the hob was accidentally turned on and are advising residents not to leave items on the hob and to keep the area clear after cooking. Where possible, always switch cooking appliances off at the switch.

Could you be an on-cal firefighter?

Firefighters are advising residents to ensure embers from bonfires and incinerators are fully cooled before leaving them after a fire in Heybridge in the early hours of this morning.

Crews were called to Basin Road, Heybridge at 2:51am and on arrival reported that a garage was 100% alight and the fire had started to spread to the house attached.

Crews worked to extinguish the fire by 4:28am.

The garage was destroyed and the kitchen in the house was smoke damaged.

Firefighters believe the fire was started by embers from an incinerator.

Update 1:30pm 

Crews are making steady progress to extinguish the fire using an Aerial Ladder Platform from above as well as from the ground.

Incident Commander Richie Green said: "We will be scaling this incident down to six crews shortly and we expect to remain at the scene into the evening and potentially overnight to monitor hot spots within the building.

"Our priority is to extinguish the fire and help to safely escort staff in the area away from the site as they head home from work.

Firefighters are advising residents to make sure cigarettes are properly stubbed out after a rubbish fire in Grays this morning.

Crews were called to a fire in High Street, Grays after a discarded cigarette caught rubbish alight.

Firefighters extinguished the fire by 10:02am.

Watch Manager Gary Bannister from Grays Fire Station said: “If you’re a smoker, please make sure to properly extinguish your cigarettes. Make sure they are properly stubbed out before you discard them as the embers can quickly catch nearby materials alight.