Essex fertiliser blast hospitalises 20 firefighters, destroys three fire engines

The incident

At approximately 16:50 BST on Friday 24 July, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service received reports of a fire at Highlands Farm, an industrial site on Southend Road between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, Essex. When crews arrived, they were confronted by a large and quickly developing blaze spreading through industrial units and onto surrounding land. A major incident was declared as more than 100 firefighters were deployed to the scene. At 17:46, less than an hour after the initial call, a unit storing fertiliser exploded, intensifying the fire and destroying three fire engines and two officer cars that had been positioned to attack the flames.

Casualties and response

Chief fire officer Rick Hylton held a media conference on Saturday afternoon and provided details on the welfare of firefighters. He praised the "remarkable professionalism, courage and commitment" of the crews and described the incident as "one of the most challenging and complex incidents Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has responded to in recent years".

The fire and explosion has also destroyed three fire engines and two officer cars that were being used to respond to the incident. This underlines the scale and intensity of the conditions our crews faced. I also want to provide an update on the welfare of our firefighters. I can confirm that 20 firefighters attended hospital following the incident. Of that 20, four suffered minor injuries, and the remainder were precautionary assessments, including checks for issues such as hearing loss following the explosion. I am pleased to confirm all of those firefighters have now been discharged from hospital.

Witness accounts

Witnesses near the scene told the BBC the explosion sounded "like a bomb" and compared it to a "sonic boom". Others reported hot debris falling from the sky, adding to the chaos as the fire rapidly spread. The intensity of the blast was evident in the damage to fire service vehicles and the surrounding area.

Aftermath and investigation

By Saturday, approximately 25 firefighters remained at Highlands Farm to dampen down remaining hotspots. The fire service confirmed that an investigation into the cause of the fire is under way, and recovery operations for affected businesses have begun. Hylton noted that the destroyed vehicles represented a significant operational loss, but no estimates of total damage or the number of businesses impacted were immediately available.

Timeline of the key events

The following outlines the critical moments during the response to the Essex farm explosion.