Jaywick fire leaves three homes destroyed and seven damaged

Crews were called to the scene in Beach Way just before 11am this morning to tackle the flames which were affecting ten properties.

Police issued a cordon around the area and the fire service advised people to avoid the area and keep their windows and doors closed. 

Aftermath - the homes after the fire (Image: Bradley Thompson)

Smoke could be seen billowing from the area, with residents reporting seeing the thick clouds from more than a mile away.

In the first update of many throughout the day, station manager Nick Singleton said: “Please avoid the area while we deal with this incident, there is a lot of smoke being blown around in the wind.

“We have the fire under control but anticipate we’ll be here for several hours while we work to fully extinguish the fires.

"Initial crews worked very hard in windy conditions to prevent the fire from spreading.”

Six crews from Chelmsford, Clacton, Coggeshall, Dovercourt, Halstead and Weeley were working by 12.30pm to "get the fire under control".

Manager - Nick Singleton (Image: Natalie Hensel)

While firefighters worked on the flames, the Jaywick community rallied around to help those in the area.

Tendring Council, Sandy's Farm, The Sunspot and Never Say Die pub all set up refuges and safe spaces for both people and animals affected by the fire. 

Bradley Thompson, Jaywick councillor, and his companions helped to save people from their homes and helped firefighters with equipment.  

The East of England Ambulance service sent a Hazardous Area Response Team, four ambulances, a community first responder and two ambulance officer vehicles to the scene to assist, helping to assess patients and hand out oxygen masks.

Screen - black smoke billowing into the sky (Image: Matthew Child)

Crews had extinguished the fire by 4.30pm, with one crew remaining on the scene to dampen the area and monitor hotspots.

The fire service revealed three houses were destroyed in the fire and seven other properties were left with smoke and heat damage. 

Station manager Karl Amoss said: “Thank you to everyone for your patience while we have been dealing with this incident. 

“We understand the scene today was very distressing for lots of people and we will be carrying out an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.”

Local MP, Nigel Farage, also sent his thoughts to those affected and said he would "visit in the coming days".