ONGAR: Barn fire leaves parish cut off

A PARISH was closed off for several hours as firefighters pumped water from a pond to tackle a raging barn fire.

Roads leading into Greensted were shut off by emergency crews on Monday night as a blaze destroyed a two-storey barn and smoke engulfed the surrounding community.

The fire raged uncontrollably at the large outbuilding in Blake Hall Road, Greensted, while six fire engines arrived to tackle the flames.

Assistant divisional officer, Dave Taylor, said crews arrived at 5pm to find thick black smoke pouring across the road and neighbouring fields.

He said: "The fire could be seen from Brentwood.

"Within four or five minutes of the crews arriving a whole section of the barn was alight."

Firefighters pumped water from a nearby pond to help fight the fire, which tore down a section of the L-shaped building.

David Richardson, who lives in Acres Avenue, Shelley, added: "I could see a great plume of smoke from that direction."

The tutor and writer said: "In the streets in Shelley you could see the smoke like a mist between the houses.

"It smelt very acrid. I worried it might be some sort of industrial fire, so I closed all the windows just in case."

Fire crews had put out the blaze by 6.35pm, before spending time damping down the ruined building.

Mr Taylor said as the flames died down: "There is a timber frame still standing next to the flattened section that will probably have to be pulled down for safety."

He added: "There have been around 40 firefighters here, who have done a fantastic job.

"We had a problem when a culvert (underground water pipes) on the road leading from the A414 collapsed and we struggled to get some of the engines through.

"But they protected the rest of the buildings very well."

No-one was hurt in the fire. A fire investigation will now take place.

Mr Taylor said: "We will regard it as suspicious until we can determine otherwise, but there is no indication at the moment that this was caused deliberately."