Industrial unit fire

Firefighters are currently at the scene of an industrial unit fire in Commerce Park, Colchester. 

On arrival, crews from Colchester, Braintree, Clacton, Tiptree, Weeley and West Mersea reported there was a fire in a two-storey industrial unit with cylinders inside. 

Firefighters have the fire under control and have been working to extinguish it in sections. Crews have been using an Aerial Ladder Platform to extinguish the fire from above as well as from the ground.

Area Manager Dan Partridge said: “We have the fire under control and would like to reassure the public that there aren’t any chemicals involved in the fire. We’d also like to thank the public for their patience while we deal with this incident. We expect to be on scene for a while to extinguish the fire in sections.”

Update 7pm 

Firefighters have extinguished a fire in an industrial unit. 

Crews worked to extinguish the fire in sections using an Aerial Ladder Platform to tackle the fire from above while firefighters extinguished the fire from the ground. 

One crew will remain on scene monitoring the area. 

An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire. 

Station Manager Adam Barber said: “Thank you to our initial Incident Commander and crews who did well to contain the fire and stop it spreading to neighbouring buildings. Crews worked to extinguish the fire in sections while removing and cooling cylinders. We’ll have a crew monitoring the scene for a little while longer and then we’ll be working with our partners to investigate the cause of the fire.”

An investigation carried out to determine the cause of the fire found it was caused accidentally. Crews believe the fire started in a yard behind an industrial unit before spreading to the industrial unit.