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 a “large and rapidly developing fire” 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 also 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.“I also want to provide an update on the welfare of our firefighters. I can confirm 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.”This is a breaking story – more follows. Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent.
Three fire engines destroyed and 20 firefighters taken to hospital after huge blast
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.
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