More than 100 firefighters contained an industrial blaze following a fertiliser explosion in Essex late Friday afternoon. The blast shook houses up to six miles away.
Emergency crews responded to the incident on Southend Road, situated between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, at approximately 4:50 p.m. Flames rapidly consumed several industrial units and spread into an adjacent field. That escalation prompted the East of England Ambulance Service to declare a critical incident and dispatch a hazardous area response team.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service area manager Dave Bond confirmed the fire is now under control. First responders evacuated nearby residents strictly as a safety precaution. Bond emphasized there is no wider risk to the public.
Local residents compared the volume of the explosion to a sonic boom.
Industrial incidents involving agricultural chemicals carry historical weight in the United Kingdom. In April 1916, an explosion involving ammonium nitrate at a munitions factory in Faversham, Kent, killed 115 people and shattered windows miles away. Current monitoring efforts in Essex remain focused on site safety and structural assessment.