30 Homeless Following Chelmsford Flat Fire

14 June 2014, 09:53 | Updated: 14 June 2014, 10:01

Around 30 people have been left homeless, following a fire at the top of a block of flats this morning.

It broke out around 01:55 this morning on Harberd Tye.

Firefighters tackled the fire at the top of the block of flats.

All people were accounted for.

It was under control by 03:36 and was totally out by 04:51.

Sub Officer Syd Barrett, from Chelmsford Fire Station, said: "When crews arrived, there was a well developed fire in the roof void of the block which had broken through the roof of the building. The fire did not spread to an adjacent block.

"We made sure the entire building had been evacuated. In all, around 30 people escaped safely from the building but none of them will be able to return because of the damage caused.

"Crews were hampered by a poor water supply but were able to use the aerial ladder platform to good effect to douse the fire from above. We had the incident under control by around 03:30hrs and continued using the ALP to damp it down and extinguish the fire for around another hour-and-a-half."

The block is a housing association building and the housing association has been informed.

An investigation will take place to establish the cause of the fire.