Flats evacuated as unattended cooking catches fire

Image source, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service

Image caption, The kitchen was left uninhabitable after unattended cooking caught fire, crews said

A block of flats was evacuated after unattended cooking caused a kitchen fire, crews said.

Firefighters were called to reports of smoke coming out of a flat near Western Esplanade on Canvey Island at 13:35 GMT.

One of the flats was left uninhabitable, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said.

Crews used hose reel jets to extinguish the blaze. No injuries were reported.

Group manager Steve Osborn said: "The crews did a great job to get residents out of the block safely and extinguish the fire quickly to stop it from spreading into other rooms."

He said there was not a working smoke alarm in the flat.

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