Firefighters are highlighting the importance of having working smoke alarms after neighbours called us about a fire in Vange when they heard alarms going off.

Crews were called to Ryedene Place, Vange at 9:42am to reports of alarms going off.

On arrival, crews reported that a kitchen in ground floor flat was on fire.

Crews extinguished the fire by 10:40am and believe it was caused when the hob was accidentally left on with a box on top.

Firefighters have continued working hard across the county today. Here are few more, although please note this is not a full list.

Incident Number: 175943

Large Fire in the Open

New Kiln Road, Colchester

Time of call: 12:01 14/08/2022

Attendance: 2 x Colchester, 1 x Clacton, 1 x West Mersea

PHOTOS: Firefighters worked quickly to stop a fire in the open from spreading to homes in Hillyfields, Colchester today.

Crews were called at 12.01pm to 200 metres of grass alight which had spread to hedges and eight gardens.

Firefighters stopped a large field fire in East Tilbury from spreading to Coalhouse Fort, a nearby church and homes this afternoon.

Crews were called to land off Princess Margaret Road at 10.54am to reports of a large field fire. The fire damaged eight hectares of land but was put out thanks to the hard work and efforts of the team at 2.43pm.

Firefighters have issued safety advice following a fire which damaged a house in South Woodham Ferrers today.

Crews were called to the property in Creekview Road at 2.24pm following concerns that something was smouldering in the guttering of the house and there was the smell of smoke.

They found a small fire which had damaged the guttering and the fascia. It is believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette that wasn’t fully extinguished.

Firefighters quickly tackled a fire near the A12 at Stanway this afternoon.

We were called at 2.48pm to 200 metres of grass, trees and hedge that was alight. Colleagues from Essex Police put road closures in place and evacuated nearby businesses as a precaution. 

The fire was out at 3.45pm.

Tintin the donkey had quite the adventure today after he got stuck in some mud and was rescued by our firefighters.

Our Animal Rescue Unit from Chelmsford and a crew from Harlow were called to Church Lane in Great Hallingbury at 8.32am to help Tintin get back on his hooves.

Firefighters are urging people who smoke to dispose of their cigarettes properly following two fires at a Billericay Nature Reserve over the past few days.

Crews were called to Mill Meadows on Friday at 11.30am and on Sunday evening at around 7pm following reports of small fires there. On Sunday a bench was on fire and has been damaged.

On Friday a quick thinking local resident used a bucket of water and a dog walker used their dogs drinking water on Sunday to stop the fires from spreading. The fires could have been caused either accidentally or deliberately.

Firefighters rescued 3 dogs after a fire broke out at a kennels in Ardleigh on Tuesday evening.

The building, which measures roughly 40 metres by 10 metres, was 75% alight when crews arrived. Four other dogs had already been rescued.

The owners of the property, who were outside at the time, were alerted to the fire after hearing banging and popping noises.

Crews rescued the three dogs and managed to quickly stop the fire spreading further to the rest of the property, using a nearby lake to support their supplies of water.

Update at 10pm

Buckhurst Hill flooding

The flooding affected 18 properties in Rous Road and Boxted Close, Buckhurst Hill. Not River Road as we said earlier.

Crews from Loughton, Epping, Waltham Abbey and Corringham attended but have now left the scene. Relief crews from Chelmsford and Basildon remain in the area to continue reducing water levels. A crew from Thaxted is also on scene using an aqua vac to suck out water from some properties in Boxted Close.

We’d like to thank local residents for their support.

Firefighters worked quickly to stop a fire from spreading in Harlow during the early hours of this morning. 

Crews were called at just after midnight, to reports of one first floor flat on fire and smoke in the two-storey building.

Initially two crews from Harlow, one from Old Harlow plus two from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service - Sawbridgeworth and Bishop Stortford - attended.

Many of the residents had left the building and crews helped others to evacuate. Firefighters used fans to ventilate the building and clear the smoke.