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.

Firefighters are advising residents not to cook while tired after a man was rescued during a kitchen fire in Colchester earlier today.

Crews from Colchester, Wivenhoe and Brightlingsea were called to a kitchen fire in Rosalind Close, Colchester after a neighbour called 999 when they heard smoke alarms going off.

On arrival, crews reported that there was a fire in an oven and the kitchen was heavily smoke logged.

Colchester firefighters rescued Wish, a four-month old Border Collie puppy today after she became trapped under a bridge near a pond.

Crews were called to a country park in Turner Road, Colchester where Wish had been playing with her owners before taking a dip in the pond and getting trapped under a bridge on the other side.

Firefighter used a reach pole to rescue Wish by 12:03pm and she was left in the care of her owners.

Do you have working smoke alarms in your home?

Firefighters are highlighting the importance of having working smoke alarms after we were called to a kitchen fire by neighbours who heard smoke alarms going off.

Crews were called to a house fire in High View Avenue, Grays at 1:17pm after neighbours called 999 when they heard smoke alarms going off and could smell smoke.

On arrival, crews reported there was a pan on fire on the hob and the fire was spreading to the kitchen cabinets.

Firefighters extinguished the fire by 1:52pm.

Crews were called to a property in Daiglen Drive, South Ockendon earlier today when a neighbour noticed a garden fire had spread into a conservatory.

Firefighters were called to a house in South Ockendon at 3:11pm, when a chiminea caused a fire which spread out of control.

On arrival, crews confirmed that there was a fire in the garden, the conservatory and the loft. Crews soon discovered that the fire had also spread into the loft of the adjoining property.

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.

Firefighters were called to a road traffic collision which happened on Queens Park Avenue, Billericay this evening.

On arrival, firefighters reported that two vehicles were involved in a collision, and one man was trapped in a car.

Crews worked quickly to make the area safe, and then used specialist equipment to release the man from his vehicle by 8:47pm.

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Firefighters from Brentwood are on-call Firefighters, who all live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station and attend incidents.

Firefighters rescued two people after a road traffic collision involving a car, van and lorry.

Our Control team was called by the Ambulance Service following an incident on the A133 Weeley to Clacton today (30 March) at 8.06pm.

Crews from Weeley, Clacton and Colchester attended and used specialist hydraulic equipment to rescue two people who were trapped. The casualties were left in the care of the Ambulance Service by 8.44am.

Firefighters made the scene safe and requested the Highways England to clear the spilled fuel.