RESIDENTS were evacuated from their homes during a fire which has destroyed multiple gardens.

A fire broke out at a garden in Greenwood Close in Chelmsford on Saturday.

About 40 people were evacuated from their homes as a safety precaution.

Essex Police were at the scene and East of England Ambulance Service provided first aid to seven people as a result of the incident.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

An investigation completed yesterday revealed that the fire was caused accidentally by a chiminea.

Crews were called at about 10pm and extinguished the fire by 11.08pm.

On arrival, firefighters confirmed that there was a well-developed fire which was affecting gardens of approximately 15 houses as well as multiple sheds, outbuildings and a group of conifer trees.

A number of gardens have been destroyed and 15 homes have suffered damage to exterior walls, windows and guttering.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

Two crews from Chelmsford were in attendance alongside a crew from Rayleigh Weir, Maldon, Brentwood, Wickford and Witham’s’ Incident Command Unit.

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Area Manager, Neil Fenwick, said: “While summer weather usually provides the perfect opportunity to host a barbecue or gather around a chiminea in the evening, we’re strongly discouraging people from having any kinds of fires at the moment.

“The ground across Essex is extremely dry allowing fires to spread easily and quickly. This is true for gardens as well as fields and heathland.

"Please help us to help you. Please don’t have barbecues or bonfires. Please don’t use fireworks or set off sky lanterns. Doing so could cause a large scale fire like the one we’ve seen this evening.”