Three fire engines and two officer cars were destroyed in a “large and rapidly developing” blaze at an industrial unit in Essex on Friday night, a fire chief has said.
Crews from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFR) arrived at Southend Road, between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, to reports of a blaze just before 5pm on Friday.
A number of industrial units and a field caught alight and fertiliser inside one of the units exploded while fire crews were on the scene.
Nearby residents were evacuated and a “major incident” was declared as around 100 firefighters continued to battle the blaze overnight.
On Saturday afternoon, ECFR chief fire officer/chief executive Rick Hylton confirmed that 20 firefighters were taken to hospital in the aftermath of the fire.
He said: “The fire and explosion has also destroyed three fire engines and two officer cars that were being used to respond to the incident.
“This underlines the scale and intensity of the conditions our crews faced.
“I also want to provide an update on the welfare of our firefighters.
“I can confirm that 20 firefighters attended hospital following the incident.
Of those 20, four had suffered minor injuries while the others were taken for precautionary checks, and all have now been discharged.”
The fire chief confirmed that the blaze was now under control, and asked people not to speculate on the cause of the fire at this stage.
Smoke plumes could be seen billowing in the sky in photos and videos posted online, while some locals have said they heard explosions.
Mr Hylton said: “Firefighters will remain at the scene in order to bring the incident to a safe resolution, a formal investigation into the cause of the incident has already begun.
“It is important that we do not speculate on the cause until that investigation has fully been completed.”
