Firefighters were sent to an ambulance station on Friday morning following reports of a fire to an ambulance vehicle.

The incident happened in Fenn Road, Halstead at about 9.30am.

On arrival, the crews discovered a fire had started in the engine compartment of a parked ambulance and that it had spread to the guttering on the building of the station.

The vehicle fire was extinguished by 10am and the fire on the building, which was smoke-logged, was extinguished by 10.20am.

Sub Officer Mick Hewitt, Incident Commander, said: “Crews were able to salvage all of the life-saving equipment from the back of the ambulance undamaged.

“The fire spread to guttering and filled the building with smoke which we used a positive pressure ventilation fan to clear the building.”

East of England Ambulance Service general manager for north Essex, Jason Gillingham, said: “At 9.40am today, an ambulance caught fire outside Halstead ambulance station.

“Thankfully no-one was injured and the station was evacuated as a precaution.

“Our hazardous area response team (HART) and ambulance officers attended to assist with managing the incident, and the fire service are also in attendance.

“An alternative ambulance has been provided for the crew so that there is minimal impact on responses to patients.

“An internal investigation supported by external specialists has been launched to establish the cause of the fire.”