Firefighters called to large industrial fire in Chelmsford
The fire is now out.
Last updated 12th Nov 2021
Firefighters from across Essex have been dealing with a serious fire at an industrial unit in Chelmsford.
Crews from Chelmsford, Witham, Great Baddow, Tollesbury, Leaden Roading and Colchester were called to Eckersley Road just before 3.30am on Friday 12th November.
On arrival firefighters reported that the unit, which measures 30m by 40m, was 70% alight and 100% smoke logged.
At 5am Incident Commander Russ Freeman said: "We quickly divided the unit into sections to tackle the fire and now our crews are working hard to bring the fire under control and stop it spreading to adjoining buildings.
"We've currently got six crews working at ground level and one aerial ladder platform tackling the fire from above.
"We expect to be here for some time before we are able to fully extinguish the fire so please avoid the area."
The service issued an update at 7am this morning saying that crews remained on the scene but that the fire was almost out.
The statement added that four fire engines from Corringham, Billericay, Newport and Brightlingsea will now relieve current crews and take over the incident.
There message was still to avoid the area though.
At 8am this morning, Incident Commander Russ Freeman said: "Crews have worked extremely hard to bring the fire under control and did a brilliant job of stopping it from spreading to adjacent buildings.
"Firefighters will remain on scene to remove roof panels and tackle any final remaining hot spots."
Officers will carry out an investigation into the cause when it is safe to do so.