FIRE crews in the Thurrock area had a busy evening yesterday (Wednesday, 27 August) dealing with two incidents.

Four teams of firefighters responded to stop a garage fire spreading to a house close to Horndon on the Hill, at a property off South Hill.

A 10 metre by five metre garage, which was used a workshop, was destroyed by the blaze, including all of the tools inside.

Crews from Basildon, Rayleigh Weir and Grays were called to the property at 7.50pm and they found the garage fully alight.

Station Manager Russ Freeman said: "Firefighters quickly contained the fire and removed the cylinders that were inside and stopped the fire spreading to the house nearby, although there was some damage to the outside of the building."

The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental, but this is a incident is a good reminder to urge people to follow our safety advice.

Mr Freeman added: "We'd urge people to be careful when having bonfires as the ashes can still be warm for a couple of days. Please follow our safety advice as fires can spread faster than people expect and they put people and property at risk.

"A few simple steps really do reduce the risk: please avoid having bonfires until we've had a couple of days of rain, keep barbecues away from sheds and fences and never leave them unattended."

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However, the cause of a second fire – around midnight in Grays, has been put down to arson.

Firefighters were called to a car fire in Towers Road on the Globe Industrial Estate, just minutes after midnight. The ala was raised after nearby residents heard explosions and then saw flames and smoke.

The scene on the Globe Estate in Grays just after midnight.

A crew from Grays attended and extinguished the fire by 12.43am. They also prevented the fire from spreading to nearby vehicles and buildings.

 The cause has been recorded as deliberate.