Essex care home evacuated as fire fills kitchen with smoke

Sixteen care home residents had to be led to safety after a kitchen fire filled their building with smoke.

Fire crews praised staff at the home in Great Notley near Braintree for their quick thinking in helping people get out on Wednesday afternoon.

Crews from Saffron Walden were in the area already and arrived quickly to put the fire out after being called at 5.15pm. No one was hurt.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said the entire ground floor of the home was full of smoke.

Howard Midwood, station manager, said: "I'd like to thank watch manager Paul Curtis and his crew from Saffron Walden who were in the area and first on scene this evening - they did an excellent job of getting the fire under control as quickly as possible.

"The employees at this care home were also quick-thinking and did the right thing in getting everyone out safely and letting our firefighters tackle the fire. We really appreciate their support."

Fire crews said the damage was confined to the kitchen.

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