FIREFIGHTERS are on the scene of incident in Braintree following an explosion at a factory.
Fire crews from Braintree, Dunmow and South Woodham Ferrers were called at around 12.14pm to a factory on Swinbourne Drive.
Crews were responding to reports of an explosion at the factory.
Essex Fire has said a furnace exploded at the factory with crews being tasked with extinguishing a fire alongside site staff.
All staff members have been evacuated while crews deal with the incident.
The fire has been extinguished after teams used dry powder but they remain at the scene to monitor any hotspots.
Area Manager Neil Fenwick said: “Crews did an excellent job with site staff to stop the fire from spreading and to make the scene safe.
"We worked closely with our partners in the Ambulance Service to ensure the scene was being managed safely.”
The fire was fully extingushed by 3pm.
Now an investigation to establish the cause of the fire is currently being carried out.
Station Manager Jez Tuckwell, Incident Commander said: “I’d really like to thank the site staff for assisting us with this incident and ensuring all 50 members of staff were safely evacuated.
"This was a great partnership effort to safely resolve this incident.”
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