Fire in derelict building

Update at 8am:

One crew from Saffron Walden is now at the scene dampening down. A fire investigation will take place today.

Update at 3.45am:

Crews continue to work hard and the fire is nearly out.

They are using an aerial ladder platform and a drone to deal with any hot spots. 

Hertfordshire firefighters have left the incident and three of our crews remain on scene.

Essex Police have set up a cordon. 

The roof of the building has collapsed.

An investigation into the cause will take place later this morning.

Station Manager Steve Kirkham praised crews for their work, especially those from Harlow and Old Harlow Fire Stations who were first on scene. 

He said: “Their quick actions prevented the fire from spreading, protecting the block of flats nearby.”

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Some of the firefighters who attended this incident are on-call firefighters who live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station and are paid to protect their local community.
 

To find out more about the role and how you can apply, visit:

https://www.essex-fire.gov.uk/recruitment/on-call

If you live near the Netteswell Orchard area in Harlow, please keep your windows and doors closed. 

That’s the message from our firefighters who are at the scene of the fire which is affecting a derelict building just off Park Lane.

There is a lot of smoke and residents are asked to follow our advice and avoid the area.

Crews were called to reports of a fire at just after half past midnight.

This incident is on-going.