Firefighters have issued safety advice following a kitchen fire at a flat in Kenway, Southend, this afternoon.

Crews from Southend and Shoebury were called at 3.16pm after a quick thinking neighbour raised the alarm.

They arrived to find the kitchen in a ground floor flat full of smoke after a pan had been left cooking on the hob while the occupants had popped out.

Watch Manager Dan Trendell said: “Luckily there was minimal damage but this could have been a lot worse.

Firefighters have praised the quick reactions of a take away store owner who followed all the correct procedures after a chip pan caught fire.

Crews were called to a premises in the High Road, South Benfleet, at 11.14am today.

A chip pan had caught fire but major damage was averted thanks to the owner who isolated the heat supply, used an extinguisher and evacuated the premises quickly.

Around 30 firefighters attended a fire at a former care home in Connaught Avenue, Frinton-on-Sea this evening.

Crews were called to the single-storey building at 4.48pm and found a fire in the roof. There were concerns there may have been people inside following reports from local residents but our firefighters searched the building and found it to be empty. Around 40 percent of the 30 metre by 10 metre building has been destroyed.

Crews attended a fire in a disused industrial building in Thames Road, Canvey, during the early hours of this morning.

We were called at 2.30am and found a five metre by 10 metre detached building well alight.

Firefighters contained the fire, before using the aerial ladder platform to expose any hotspots in the roof.

The incident was finished at 5.30am and an investigation into the cause will be carried out.

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Our on-call firefighters today saved two homes from being destroyed after a shed fire spread to two buildings.

Crews from Wethersfield, Dunmow and Braintree were called to Bendlowes Road in Great Bardfield at 12.23pm today after members of the public reported seeing plumes of smoke from as far as the A120.

Two sheds, which each housed 400 litre heating oil tanks, were on fire, with the heat from the blaze causing the two bungalows they belonged to, to catch fire as well.

Incident Update @17:45

Our crews left the scene at 3.24pm and the road has reopened. 

Firefighters have been working through the night following a fire at a property in Cressing Road, Braintree. Three crews remain on scene this morning dampening down. Cressing Road is closed between Coggeshall Road and Trotters Field because of the incident so motorists are asked to find alternative routes.

Crews have attended a field fire in Great Burstead, Billericay today. Firefighters were called at 11:31am following calls from the public that a hay field that had recently been cut was on fire.

The fire covered an area of around 200 square metres. Crews used beaters and an off road vehicle to extinguish it and quickly managed to stop it spreading to a neighbouring barley field, a nearby school and industrial area.

It was out by 12.40pm.

Update 21 June 17:15pm

An investigation has been unable to determine the cause of the fire.

Station Manager Lee Hurst, Fire Investigation Officer, said: "We have done everything we can and put in so much effort to get to the bottom of it.

"Unfortunately, because the fire was so intense and due to the damage caused to the buildings, it has been impossible to come to a definitive conclusion.  

Firefighters were called to a property in Ongar at 9:35am this morning, after sunlight was refracted by a mirror and caused a fire.

On entering the property, firefighters confirmed there was a fire in the lounge and the property was heavily smoke-logged.

Crews worked to extinguish the fire by 10:12am, and cleared the property of smoke.

Watch Manager, Mark Curtis, at Harlow Fire Station, said: “It’s very rare we attend an incident where a fire has been caused by sunlight, but that’s exactly what happened today!

Firefighters were called to the scene of a fire at a care home in Black Notley this evening.

Saffron Walden firefighters, who were responding in the area at the time, arrived at the scene first and confirmed that the entire ground floor of the property was smoke-logged.

Care workers had evacuated 16 residents from the building - and thankfully, no-one was harmed.