Three fire engines and two fire officers’ cars were destroyed in a blaze at an industrial unit in Essex yesterday, while 20 firefighters were sent to hospital following the incident.

Firefighters were faced with the “large and rapidly developing” blaze on Friday evening following a fertiliser explosion.

Rick Hylton, chief fire officer/chief executive at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, gave an update on the fire in a press conference on Saturday afternoon.

He said: “The fire and explosion has... destroyed three fire engines and two officer cars that were being used to respond to the incident.

“This underlines the scale and intensity of the conditions our crews faced.”

Mr Hylton said that 20 firefighters “attended hospital” following the incident.

“Of that 20, four suffered minor injuries, and the remainder were precautionary assessments, including checks for issues such as hearing loss following the explosion.

“I am pleased to confirm all of those firefighters have now been discharged from hospital.”

Firefighters will continue working into the weekend at the side of the huge industrial blaze.

The fire, which prompted the evacuations of nearby residents, was declared a major incident on Friday afternoon.

Emergency services were first alerted to the inferno on Southend Road, between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, at 4.50pm on Friday, the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said.

Several industrial units and an adjacent field were engulfed in flames.

Area manager Dave Bond said that fertiliser exploded within one of the units while crews were present.

About 100 firefighters were originally deployed to combat the extensive fire, with dozens expected to remain on site into Saturday.

In a video update on Friday night, Mr Bond said: “We’re in the process of scaling back, but we do still have 50 firefighters on scene. We’re still working closely with our partners, including police, ambulance, utility companies, and we also have a number of specialist advisers on scene, giving us support as we move through the night.”

Mr Bond said that the incident will be “ongoing into the weekend”.

He asked people to stay away from the area so that firefighters can continue their operations.

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