THE ROOF of a flat collapsed during a fire in Pitsea.

Two appliances from Basildon fire station went to the blaze which broke out in a first floor flat in Wickford Avenue, Pitsea, at around 7pm.

The blaze is thought to have been caused accidentally when a kitchen extractor fan caught fire.

This spread to the roof of the flat and caused it to collapse.

The flat owner, a man in his thirties, who was inside the flat when the fire started, evacuated his home and then called the fire service.

Station officer, Gary Hastings, said: “When we arrived there was a lot of smoke coming out of the roof and we could see flames.

“At first we sent crews inside to tackle the fire from within, but when the roof started to collapse we drew back.

“We then attacked it from what was left of the roof.”

Firefighters from Basildon’s blue watch had the fire was under control within about 10 minutes.

No one was hurt and the area underneath the flat was being used for storage.