BRAVE and dedicated firefighters from the Essex Fire Service were called to over 180 incidents within 24 hours after heavy rain caused wide spread flooding across the county.

Firefighters responded to around 70 rescue incidents on Thursday, which included a dog who had been swept away in a river in Halstead, a number of flooded properties, and numerous road traffic collisions.

The fire control room team worked tirelessly throughout the gruelling 24 hours, dealing with triple the calls the service usually receives on an average day.

On top of the emergency incidents that were being dealt with, the team also received around 90 calls which came from homeowners and drivers who were experiencing the effects of the flooding, but were not at risk.

These incidents did not require a fire service response and callers were given advice by experienced control room operators.

Braintree and Witham Times:

On-call firefighters in Braintree also spent nearly three hours preventing flood water entering 12 houses during the evening after the River Brain in Great Notley burst its banks.

The team worked with on-call firefighters from Maldon who brought specialist equipment to help pump the water in sections away from the houses as well as with the Environment Agency.

Station Manager Steve Wintrip from Braintree Fire Station said: “Crews worked really hard in falling temperatures to prevent the water getting into the front doors and were there for several hours at the end of a particularly challenging day attending water related incidents.”