DOZENS of firefighters attended a blaze after flames ripped through an industrial unit.

A total of five fire crews were sent to the scene at School Road in Langham after the fire began.

When they arrived crews reported the building, which measures approximately 40 metres by 80 metres, was 50 per cent alight.

Due to the scale of the fire, officers on the scene requested help from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service’s water bowser.

The special unit is based in Halstead and contains a large water tank for use on large blazes.

Crews also had to deploy the aerial ladder platform from Chelmsford in order to reach flames which had spread to the roof of the building in the School Farm estate.

After receiving the call just after 7.15pm last night, firefighters had managed to split the fire into specific areas and surround the building to tackle it more effectively within 90 minutes.

Gazette:

Cordon - fire crews taped off the area

Crews battled bravely against the flames for more than three hours before finally extinguishing the blaze totally.

Two crews from Colchester, one from Wivenhoe, another from Manningtree and a team from Chelmsford with the aerial ladder platform all attended the fire.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “Firefighters quickly requested the support of Halstead’s water bowser, a vehicle which contains a large water tank, to help tackle the fire. 

“At 8.45pm, firefighters reported the incident had been divided into areas to allow fire crews to surround the building more efficiently.

“By 10.35pm firefighters reported that the fire had been extinguished.” 

The unit was left with extensive damage.

Several vehicles which had been parked inside were also torched in the fire. 

The building is used by company CA Body Repairs which specialises in repairing paintwork on cars and other vehicles.

The firm has been based in Langham since 1993.

No-one from the company was available for comment.

Fire service investigators launched a probe into the cause of the blaze.

They concluded the fire started as a result of an accident.