Firefighters are giving safety advice after a disposable barbecue cooling off on decking caused a fire that left two families homeless in Little Walden.

Crews were called to a fire in Petlands, Little Walden last night and reported that a semi detached house was on fire and was spreading to the property next door.

Firefighters requested the help of Newport Fire Station and crews worked together to extinguish the fire by 12:18am.

The two properties were badly damaged and left both families homeless.

Incident update at 10.55pm

Our crews have been working hard to prevent the fire from spreading to a nearby corn field and electrical sub station.

Although three outbuildings and a derelict bungalow have been completely destroyed.

An investigation is being carried out to determine the cause of the fire.

The aerial ladder platform remains at the scene along with two relief crews from Shoeburyness and South Woodham Ferrers.

Swift and decisive action from crews prevented garden fires from spreading to houses in two separate incidents.

Firefighters from Orsett and Grays were called to Queen Elizabeth Avenue, East Tilbury yesterday (Tuesday) at 7.31pm.

A large pile of rubbish being stored in a garden was alight and had spread to fences and garden furniture.

Crews stopped it from causing serious damage to the house and extinguished it by 8.24pm. The cause has been recorded as accidental.

Update at 7.55pm

The fire is now out although a relief crew will be heading back to the scene at 8pm to check for hotspots.

Approximately 20 acres of stubble field has been damaged by the fire.

Thanks to the hard work of our firefighters and the farmer, the fire didn’t spread to nearby properties and the crop of barley in the next door field was protected.

Crews have been praised after extinguishing a bedroom fire in Basildon. 

We were called to reports of a fire in a mid terrace property in Beambridge Place today at 2.59pm.

Crews from Basildon, Corringham, Orsett and Rayleigh Weir attended and found a fire in a bedroom.

Station Manager Mark Elliott said: "Our Control teams did a brilliant job of getting crews to the scene quickly.

"I'd like to praise Watch Manager Steve Allen and the crews for working hard in arduous conditions and containing what was an intense fire to the bedroom.

Crews have issued safety advice after an electric scooter battery caused a fire.

Our Control team received calls to a fire in a ground floor flat in Wayletts, Laindon today at 12.40am.

Two crews from Basildon attended and found a fire in a bedroom.

Watch Manager Mark Blakebrough said: "An e-scooter battery exploded and set the mattress and bedding alight, which caused the fire to spread very rapidly.

A family had a lucky escape after a fire started in their bungalow.

Our Control team received calls to a fire in Brick House Road, Tolleshunt Major today at 3.43am.

Crews from Tiptree, Tollesbury and Witham attended and found a well-developed fire in the kitchen.

Watch Manager Dave Farrant said: "There were no working smoke alarms so it was lucky that there was an old-style serving hatch between the kitchen and the room where some of the family were sleeping because the smoke woke one of them up.

Crews were called to Orsett Road, Thurrock at 3:07pm after a fire broke out in a log pile and spread to nearby storage containers.

On arrival, firefighters confirmed that a large pile of logs contained within a storage shed had caught alight and had spread to two of the surrounding ISO storage containers.

Crews worked hard to extinguish the fire by 4:48pm.

An investigation concluded the fire had started accidentally.

Crews were called to a property in Challinor, Harlow earlier today when a garden fire spread to a shed and a neighbouring property.

Firefighters were called to a house in Harlow at 10:20am, when a garden fire, which was believed to be extinguished, spread to a shed and a neighbouring property.

On arrival, crews confirmed that there was a fire in the garden, a shed and the ground floor of a property. Crews soon discovered that the fire had also spread into the roof space of the affected property.

Crews were called to a property in Writtle last night when a garden caught alight and smoke filled two homes.

Firefighters were called to a property in Longmeads Close at 6:24pm, when an incinerator being used to burn garden waste caused a fire which spread quickly across the garden.

On arrival, crews confirmed that there was a fire in the garden, and smoke had entered two properties. Firefighters provided first aid to a neighbour who was suffering from smoke inhalation and the occupant was looked after by a neighbour and relatives.