Crews receive top praise after tackling Sible Hedingham fire

Four crews from Braintree, Halstead, Maldon, and Saffron Walden, were called to the scene in Sible Hedingham yesterday evening.

The fire started at about 5pm, and due to a large amount of smoke, control teams received several emergency calls to the incident.

Residents could see smoke blowing across Graves Hall Road, with the incident visible from more than a mile away.

When firefighters arrived, the fire was spreading quickly.

Crews on-scene reported that this fire is affecting about 100 acres of corn and stubble, and the incident was split into sectors, to allow firefighters to surround the fire as quickly as possible.

By 8pm, the fire was completely under control, with just one large stack of hay burning.

One fire crew remained at the scene throughout the night to make sure the stack burns safely.

Following the incident, crews have received praise from both the station manager and Braintree Council.

Station Manager Nick Singleton said: "I want to firstly thank our incredible control team, who have been flooded with emergency calls once again today.

“Particularly for this incident, they did a fantastic job of managing a lot of calls and making sure our crews got here as quickly as possible.

"Our firefighters have also done themselves proud yet again here.

“We've had one of our busiest ever weeks across the county and, despite high winds and the continuing dry conditions, they've got this fire under control brilliantly. We've seen so often this week that these fires can be incredibly dangerous - and this one could very easily have been very serious."

Braintree Council added: “We would like to thank Essex Fire and Rescue for their swift action in controlling the fires that have taken place in and around the Braintree district recently, especially during the hot weather and high winds. They are true heroes.”

Following the incident, the fire service also added that they are not treating the fire as suspicious.