A popular Colchester pub had to be evacuated this morning after a fire broke out in the top floor of the building.
Crews removed tiles from the roof and used hoses to suppress the fire in the third floor flat above The Kings Arms, in Crouch Street.
Units from the town plus those from Wivenhoe, Coggeshall, Brightlingsea, Weeley and Chelmsford arrived shortly after 11am after multiple calls from local residents.
The pub had opened at 11am and had already begun serving when the blaze started, but crews at the scene reported all people inside were quickly and safely evacuated by staff.
Crouch Street was closed and all three emergency services were in attendance, with three police cars and three ambulances filling the narrow street.
Station manager Partridge, the commander for the incident, said: “We attended a well developed fire on the second floor of the building on Crouch Street.
“The fire did spread in the building but was contained to the compartments in the building.”
Incident commander Partridge thanked the great work of the first firefighters on the scene from Colchester, who used a powerful fan - called a positive pressure fan - to prevent the flames spreading to the adjoining building.
He added: “The quick thinking of that crew has saved the majority of the building.”
Crews also broke through the front door of the estate agent Boydens two doors down the street to gain access to the back of the building.
A spokesman for the Essex County Fire and Rescue service said when fire crews arrived they reported the third floor of the building was affected by fire and it was spreading to the roof.
They added: “The fire was in a building which measures approximately 25m x10m and is affected the third floor and the roof.”
The fire was extinguished at 1.15pm and an investigation will be carried out to find the cause of the blaze.
Essex Fire and Rescue have not yet announced the cause of the fire but resident of Manor road, behind the pub, reported that it may be due to an electrical fault.
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