Britain25 July, 20263 min read
Fertiliser Explosion Triggers Inferno At Essex Industrial Estate, Hospitalises 20 Firefighters
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Fertiliser explosion triggered a massive blaze at an Essex industrial site; major incident declared. More than 100 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze.
Essex fertiliser blast
A fertiliser explosion triggered an inferno at an industrial estate in Essex on Friday, sending a huge fireball and a mushroom cloud into the sky and prompting a major incident declaration as fire crews battled flames that kept burning into Saturday. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called to Southend Road, between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, at 4.50pm on Friday, after fertiliser supplies exploded during the fire. Fire chief Rick Hylton said multiple fire engines were destroyed in the response and that 20 firefighters attended hospital, with four suffering minor injuries and the remainder precautionary assessments.
“Twenty firefighters attended hospital after a fertiliser explosion caused an inferno in Essex on Friday.”
Hylton added that three fire engines and two officer cars were destroyed, and he said all 20 firefighters had been discharged from hospital. BBC cameraman Stephen Huntley described hearing an explosion from his back garden like a bomb going off, and said emergency service vehicles were passing him "non-stop" on his way to the scene.
Residents evacuated, crews hurt
People living near the site were told to keep their windows and doors closed as thick black smoke engulfed the surrounding area, and nearby residents were evacuated while firefighters remained at the scene dealing with remaining hotspots. Dave Bond, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service area manager, said on Friday that the incident would be ongoing into the weekend and urged residents to stay away from the area to allow operations to continue. Sky News said firefighters suffered minor injuries and three fire engines were destroyed in a "significant" blaze at a large industrial unit in Essex, and it reported that all injured firefighters were discharged.
The Telegraph reported that a major incident was declared and residents evacuated after fertiliser exploded during a fire that engulfed industrial units and a field near Rettendon. Local councillor Danielle Belton told Sky News that "The incident has really shook the community" and said the explosion was heard and felt for miles surrounding the site.
Impact and ongoing response
As the response continued, the BBC said the fire service scaled down the operation with about 25 firefighters on scene as of 08:00 BST on Saturday, while specialist officers and advisors worked to extinguish the rest of the blaze. The BBC reported that the cause of the fire was being investigated, and it described buildings and vehicles on farmland being gutted by the fire that kept burning into Saturday. Sam Dimond, owner of Spotlight Sound, said in a BBC interview that "It’s gone, basically" and that lots of people had lost their livelihoods because the headquarters of his business was based on the industrial site.
The Independent said a number of industrial units and a field caught alight, and that while fire crews were on scene fertiliser inside one of the units exploded, with locals reporting hearing and seeing the blast. Dave Bond told the BBC that "everybody at the scene is safe" but that residents had been evacuated, and he said the fire was declared a major incident because of the scale and complexity of the incident and the need to coordinate a multi-agency response.