Huge fire at Southend industrial unit started deliberately

Fire investigators believe that a huge fire at an industrial unit in Eastwood on Saturday was started deliberately.

Drone footage revealed just how large the fire was, which required over 10 firefighter crews to extinguish it over a 36-hour period.

Firefighters were first called to the incident on May 13th at 7:15am, following several emergency phone calls from local residents.

Six fire crews were initially sent to the scene before they requested the assistance of a further four crews as well as two aerial ladder platforms, a water bowser, and an incident command unit.

The warehouse contained car parts and packaging, and has been destroyed by the fire.

Firefighters spent more than 36 hours at the scene controlling and putting out the blaze, which was finally declared completely extinguished at 7:30pm on Sunday evening.

An investigation was then carried out which determined the cause of the fire was “deliberate”. Essex Police are now carrying out their own investigation too.

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “We are liaising with colleagues in Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and an investigation will be carried out into the circumstances around a fire at an industrial unit in Progress Road. The investigation is in its early stages.”

Essex County Fire & Rescue’s Area Manager, Ian Adams, said: “Our crews worked tirelessly to extinguish this fire this weekend and prevent it spreading to neighbouring units. We sent a large number of resources to the scene and everyone worked brilliantly together to get the fire under control. 

“Since 7:15am yesterday, we’ve sent lots of fire stations across Essex to the scene for the initial response and lots of reliefs since then.”

Some photos by Better Perspective.