Rochford residents praise firefighters following field blaze

Dozens of firefighters tackled the blaze in a field in Stambridge Road, Rochford, for roughly three hours on Thursday afternoon. 

As the fire started to spread across the field, residents began to fear it would reach their homes as it singed hedgerows. 

After breaking out at roughly 2pm, the fire was fully extinguished by 5pm and firefighters returned to the scene on Friday morning to dampen down any remaining hotspots. 

Rochford councillor Mike Steptoe said the incident reinforced his appreciation for the fire service in Essex.

The field ablaze in Rochford (Image: Kim Lovegrove)

“It was fantastic to see how quickly they responded, and they managed to get it under control very quickly. I don’t think anyone could praise them enough.” he said.

“Where would we be without our fire service?” asked Mr Steptoe.

The councillor will be visiting the area in the coming days to see the damage and offer his support to the fire service and Rochford residents.

Mill Lane resident Auri Mason added: “We had one or two fire engines within the first ten minutes of the fire, and then eight or nine came”.

Fields were left blackened by the fire (Image: Newsquest)

A number of roads were closed during the incident as emergency services tackled the incident. 

Another resident, Mike Stranks, who like Auri Mason attempted to tackle the blaze with his own garden hose, said that although the community were quick to respond, the fire service did “99 per cent of the work”.

A statement from the Essex Country Fire and Rescue Service posted to Facebook said: “On arrival, four crews reported a field fire was affecting approximately eight hectares of grassland and a number of trees.”

“Crews worked together to surround the fire and used a water bowser from Corringham to shuttle water to the scene.”

The statement confirms that the fire was extinguished by 4.55pm. 

A full investigation is being carried out to determine the cause of the fire.