Four people have been made homeless after a flat fire above an Indian restaurant in Essex.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) received reports of a fire above the Masalla restaurant in Station Approach, Braintree, at about 2.20pm.
The fire was described as “well developed” by crews on arrival who reported the roof had collapsed.
Paramedics treated one person for smoke inhalation and took them to Broomfields Hospital in Chelmsford.
Power was cut in the street so the firefighters could tackle the blaze safely and residents nearby were urged to remain patient.
Stacey Cosens, a journalism graduate and copywriter, was at her father’s house nearby when she noticed the power cut and went outside to see what was happening.
“The restaurant was on fire with flames coming from top floor and the roof collapsed,” she said,
“It looks like it will be badly destroyed.”
Crews from Braintree, Colchester, Wethersfield and an aerial platform from Chelmsford attended the fire,
Incident commander Costa Olymbios said crews used the aerial ladder platform to tackle the fire from above once the power was cut.
The fire was out by 5.20pm and a structural engineer was called to assess the damage to the property.
ECFRS and the police will investigate the cause of the fire.
The Red Cross emergency support vehicle has been requested to help the four people left homeless.
Masalla has a four-star rating on TripAdvisor, placing it 24th out of 104 restaurants in Braintree.
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