FIREFIGHTERS have issued yet another warning after an unattended bonfire got out of control and destroyed an outbuilding and a tractor.
Four fire crews were called to St Osyth after the fires started at Dairy Farm Meadow on Sunday.
The unattended bonfire initially set light to an outbuilding shortly after 5.10pm.
Crews from Clacton reported the building was fully alight with a tractor and wood stored inside.
The fire then spread to undergrowth and ignited a secondary fire.
Crews from Brightlingsea and Weeley were then called in to help extinguish the fires and used light portable pumps in a nearby lake to ensure they had enough water.
The blaze was extinguished by 8.45pm.
Watch Manager Jim Bowyer, from Clacton Fire Station issued a warning about the dangers of bonfires.
He said: “Never leave a bonfire unattended. They can ignite nearby materials and in dry and windy weather, like on Sunday, and can spread quickly and become uncontrollable.”
- Unattended - a bonfire caused large fires in St Osyth. Picture: Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has issued repeated warnings about bonfires after they triggered a number of blazes.
In April, crews were called to a series of blazes, including a bonfire which spread to fences in Mill Street, St Osyth, a barn that went up in flames in Pilcox Hall Lane, Tendring, and an outbuilding fire in Coopers Lane, Clacton.
It was believed the increase in such fires was the result of people being confined to their homes in the lockdown.
In July last year there were a number of serious fires caused by a unattended bonfires in the St Osyth area, including one in which a man was left homeless after bonfire spread causing a massive blaze which destroyed a chalet in Norman Way, Point Clear.
Just weeks later an unattended bonfire spread to six gardens, a workshop, sheds and a summerhouse in nearby Dumont Avenue, Point Clear.
The brigade said bonfires should be sited well away from houses, garages, sheds, fences, overhead cables, trees and shrubs and never left unattended.
Residents are also advised to never use flammable liquids to light the fire and not to burn foam-filled furniture, aerosols, paint tins or bottles.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here