Fire crews tackle East Tilbury grass fire

3:57pm Thursday 24th July 2008

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SIX fire crews tackled a blaze across an area of grassland covering 2,000 square metres, in Ashfield, East Tilbury.

Firefighters from Orsett, Grays and Brentwood are using hose reel jets and beaters to tackle the blaze.

Arriving at the scene just before 3pm, they took almost two hours to bring the fire under control and then damp down the site.

Assistant Divisional Officer Jim Jones, Grays Station Commander, said: "The fire covered 20-30 hectares of a former landfill site covered in vegetation. Crews worked in difficult conditions, hindered by poor access and strong winds.

"We extinuished the fire using a water shuttle relay with the Pinzgauer off-road vehicle doing most of the difficult work over the open ground.

"At the height of the fire we had six appliances on the scene, as we took control that was reduced to four."

The cause of the fire is undetermined.