Firefighters have extinguished a significant thatch roof fire at a property in Rayne after a large-scale emergency response late on Saturday night.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service were called to Long Lane at 10.54pm on Saturday (26 April) following reports of a fire at a two-storey building. Upon arrival, crews found the thatched roof — measuring approximately 15 metres by 10 metres — already 50% alight.
At the height of the incident, nine fire crews were deployed from stations across the region, including Braintree, Chelmsford (two crews), Great Dunmow, Halstead, Maldon, Thaxted, Tiptree, and Wethersfield. Support was also provided by an Incident Command Unit from Witham and a Water Bowser from Halstead to supply large volumes of water needed to battle the blaze.
Group Manager Scott Meekings praised the response, stating:
Although there were working smoke alarms, thankfully the occupants were awake and noticed when the fire started. They got out safely and called 999.
Crews worked really hard to get the fire under control and remove the burning thatch material. We were able to scale the incident down by around 2am, but crews remained at the scene into the morning to turn over materials and dampen down.”
Investigators believe the fire was caused by a log burner, which ignited the highly flammable thatch.
Thanks to the rapid response of firefighters and the early alert from the occupants, the situation was brought under control without any reported injuries.
Essex Fire and Rescue Service continue to remind residents with thatched properties to ensure log burners and chimneys are regularly maintained, as thatch fires can spread rapidly and cause devastating damage.
