Mundon fire: Eight crews tackle large blaze for hours

Firefighters were called to the incident in New Hall Lane, Mundon, at 10.37am yesterday, February 28.

Crews from Maldon and Rochford requested a further six engines due to the size of the fire and a limited water supply. 

Firefighters from Witham, Tillingham, Basildon, Chelmsford, Leigh and Rayleigh Weir, rushed to the scene to assist.

Essex Fire and Rescue said its control room took several calls about the incident as the smoke could be seen from as far away as Maldon.

Eight crews worked throughout the morning and early afternoon to contain the fire in the commercial building and prevent it from spreading to further buildings at the site. 

At 2.30pm, crews were able to scale the incident down to just three crews who remained on the scene for several hours working to extinguish the last of the hotspots. 

A fire investigation was also carried out during the afternoon but the cause could not be determined. 

Fire - the smoke could be seen as far as Maldon (Image: ECFRS)

Group manager Dave Bond said: “Initial crews worked incredibly hard to protect surrounding risks and to contain what was a well-developed fire to the one building.

“Despite a limited water supply, crews have been able to prevent the fire from spreading and will work throughout the afternoon to extinguish the last of the hotspots.”

An update was provided shortly before 10pm, saying three crews had been working throughout the evening to pull material out of the structure to extinguish the fire. 

Firefighters were also working to dismantle the building to fully extinguish hotspots. 

Two crews remained on the scene until 10.45pm monitoring hotspots and making sure the scene was fully cooled before leaving. 

A crew revisited the scene the following morning, February 29, at about 8am to confirm the scene was fully cooled.

The incident was then left in the care of the owner.