Firefighters were called to a deliberate fire in a bin chute at a block of flats in Southend earlier today.

Crews were called to Whittingham Avenue in Southend this afternoon to reports of a fire in an 11 floor block of flats.

On arrival, crews reported that a fire in a bin chute was affecting floors 5 to 10 and worked to extinguish the fire by 3:07pm.

Station Manager Scott Meetings said: “Crews acted quickly to contain and extinguish this fire and we implemented full high rise procedures as a precautionary measure.”

Firefighters were called to a road traffic collision on Mount Road in Theyon Garnon early this morning.

On arrival, crews reported that a car left the roadway on the wet roads and had collided with a tree leaving a woman trapped.

Crews worked to rescue the woman by 3:57am and she was left in the care of the Ambulance Service.

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Firefighters were called to a large shed fire this morning that had spread to fence panels and surrounding trees.

On arrival, crews reported that there was a large fire in a shed that was beginning to affect the shed next door as well as a number of fence panels and trees.

Crews extinguished the fire by 7am and believe it was caused accidentally.

Watch Manager Rob Fossett from Basildon Fire said: “This was the first fire for our apprentice firefighter Ciaran West and with his aggressive firefighting, he was able to put the fire out quickly before it spread further.”

Crews were called to the scene of a serious road traffic collision on the M25 early this evening. 

On arrival firefighters reported that a lorry, a minibus and a car were involved in a collision, anti-clockwise between junctions 27 and 26, near Waltham Abbey.

Incident Commander Richie Green said:

"Our crews worked extremely hard in a difficult and dynamic situation. We thank the public for their patience while we worked with other emergency services to make the scene safe." 

Firefighters were called to a shed fire in Leigh this afternoon.

On arrival, crews reported that a shed - measuring approximately 5 metres by 3 metres - was 100% alight.

Crews worked to prevent the fire spreading to a neighbouring building and extinguished the fire by 2:24pm. The cause of the fire was accidental.

Chelmsford firefighters were called to a road traffic collision on Vicarage Road in Chelmsford earlier today.

On arrival, crews reported that a vehicle had left the roadway and a person was trapped inside the vehicle.

Crews worked to rescue the casualty by 12:24pm and they were left in the care of the Ambulance Service.

Firefighters assisted paramedics at the scene of a road traffic collision in Chigwell.

A crew from Loughton, assisted by a London Fire Brigade crew from Woodford, were called to New Forest Lane today at 8.04pm and found a person trapped in a car.

They used specialist cutting equipment to free the casualty and left them in the care of the Ambulance Service at 8.48pm.

Crews have issued safety advice after a kitchen fire in Waltham Abbey.

Firefighters from Waltham Abbey and Loughton attended The Gladeway today at 12.39pm.

A pan containing oil had caught fire in the oven and set it alight. The occupant was in the garden when he heard the smoke alarm sounding and called 999.

Crew Manager Mav Langdon said: "We were doing a home safety visit in the area so we were only a few hundred yards away and quickly extinguished the fire.

Crews have extinguished a fire affecting two sheds in Great Dunmow.

On-call firefighters from Dunmow, Stansted, Thaxted and Braintree attended Clapton Hall Lane this evening at 9.04pm.

They found two sheds, measuring approximately 10 metres by 5 metres, completely alight.

Crews established a water supply and made steady progress stopping the fire from spreading. It was extinguished at 10.48pm.

An investigation will be carried out to establish the cause.

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Firefighters have issued safety advice after a garden fire in Leigh.

Crews from Southend and Rayleigh Weir attended Stonehill Drive last night at 11.26pm after 50ft of fencing, decking and two sheds caught fire.

Crew Manager David Garratt said: "The occupant had been burning garden waste in a small incinerator. He thought he had let it burn out and went back into his house, but unfortunately it set fire to a fence and quickly spread.

"He was alerted when the electric in the house tripped, due to fire damage to wiring in the shed.