Crews have issued safety advice after an item left on charge caused a kitchen fire.

We were called to Eight Ash Green today (Sunday 3 August) at 1.50pm and two crews from Colchester and one from Wivenhoe attended.

The kitchen was fully alight and smoke had filled the house.

Watch Manager Scott Maclean said: "The occupants had left a battery powered air compressor on charge and unfortunately it ignited and set fire to the kitchen. 

"A family member heard the smoke alarm, even though they were outside, and called 999.

We’re reminding people not to leave cooking unattended following an incident in Southend this morning.

Firefighters were called to a property in Whittingham Avenue at just before 4am following reports that a smoke alarm was going off.

It was coming from a flat on the first floor of a 10-storey building.

Crews pitched a ladder to get in through a window that was ajar.

They found the flat to be filled with smoke after cooking had been left on the hob.

Firefighters are issuing safety advice after a dishwasher caught fire.

Crews were called a house in Buckhurst Hill at just after midnight after the residents noticed the smell of smoke after they went up to bed.

They came downstairs and found their kitchen on fire.

Watch Manager Marc Lemon said: “They did absolutely the right thing by getting out of the house and calling us.

“We put the fire out and found their cat who was hiding in the lounge.”

The cause of the fire is accidental.

Our crews came to the rescue of a wandering horse who slipped into water yesterday.

Highly trained animal rescue crews, our urban search and rescue team and specialist water officers assisted crews from Bishops Stortford to help the Shire horse out of her predicament after a call from her owner.

The horse was sedated by a vet and with help from the owner using a telehandler to make a path, crews managed to slide the horse out of the water. Once she’d had a check over from the vet, she was hot to trot again and none the worse for her dip. 

Our firefighters don’t get in a flap when it comes to unusual animal rescues.

They flew into action yesterday evening when a Harris Hawk tangled itself on an aerial on top of a house in Harlow and couldn’t get free.

Crews were concerned that the bird of prey’s worried owner would try and scale the roof to rescue the bird which was in distress, so swooped in to help.

Firefighter Harry McWilliam received tips on how to carefully handle the bird from his owner, before he safely reached the hawk using an aerial ladder platform and untangled it.

Our firefighters tackled a large fire at a farm in Mountnessing Lane, Doddinghurst this evening. 

Crews arrived to find a combine harvester alight, with flames spreading across three fields.

The fire also affected a gas main and high-voltage power cables.

Firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control and stop it from spreading further. 

They used specialist off road vehicles, a drone as well as backpack sprayers and beaters.

The fire was out by 8.11pm.

Firefighters attended a fire involving four vehicles in Epping Road earlier today.

We were called at 12.18pm, the fire was out at 1.23pm but firefighters stayed on scene for 30 minutes to dampen down. 

Police are investigating and have arrested a man.

The Essex Police statement is below.

Essex Police statement:

A man has been arrested following a car fire in Epping.

Colleagues in the fire service notified us of a fire in Epping Road at 12.20pm on Sunday 27 July.

A smoke alarm helped to alert our crews to an incident in a second-floor flat in Westcliff after a pan was left unattended on a hob.

Firefighters were called at 2.26pm this afternoon, when neighbours heard a smoke alarm and noticed smoke coming from the flat.

On arrival, crews detected a strong smell of burning. They used a 13.5-metre ladder to access the property through an open second-floor window.