A man in his 60s was taken to hospital last night suffering from smoke inhalation and minor burns after attempting to tackle a laundry room fire that ripped through his home.

The blaze took hold of a property in Cornish Hall End, near Braintree, at about 6pm and left the man homeless.

Firefighters from across Essex and Suffolk were sent to tackle the blaze.

Watch manager Darren Hockley of Wethersfield Fire Station said crews arrived to find a “well established fire” in the laundry room.

“We committed two teams of breathing apparatus wearing firefighters to extinguish the fire,” he added. “The homeowner, although at home at the time, was not in the property.

“He has been taken to Broomfield Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and minor burns.

“Crews worked exceptionally hard to extinguish the fire and save the rest of the property.”

The man was injured but had left the building before firefighters arrived at the scene. He was left in the care of paramedics.

Neighbours said he had tried to re-enter to the property to tackle the fire but it was “too far gone”. “Flames were coming out of the windows and the back end of the house is finished,” said Alan Debnan.

Another neighbour said the community had rallied around to help the injured man and provided cups of tea for the firefighters. Crews arriving at the scene reported that the ground floor, first floor and loft space of the property were 100% smoke logged. Four appliances were initially sent to the scene as it was thought people may be inside the property.

However, at 6.25pm, the incident commander reported everyone had been accounted for. An additional two appliances were sent to the scene for extra firefighters with breathing apparatus capability.

Police and Highways Agency were called to close the road between Cornish Hall End and Steeple Bumpstead as firefighting operations continued.

At 6.40pm firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were searching the neighbouring property to inspect for fire spread as further crews worked to extinguish the blaze.

The fire was out by 7.40pm, although it is not yet clear how it started.