Cigarette fire leaves farm office in Little Bardfield destroyed

Firefighters have urged people to properly stub out their cigarettes after the office was destroyed in Little Bardfield last night, August 21.

Firefighters from Wethersfield and Thaxted were called to the site in Little Bardfield Road at 10.09pm.

When crews arrived, the fire was almost out due to owners tackling the blaze themselves. 

Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to check for hotspots and made sure the fire was properly extinguished. 

Fire - The farm office building has been 'completely destroyed' by the cigarette fire. (Image: Essex fire service)

A warning has been issued following the incident.

Watch manager Darren Hockley said: “If you’re a smoker, please make sure to properly extinguish your cigarettes. 

“Make sure they are properly stubbed out before you discard them as the embers can quickly catch nearby materials alight.

“Unfortunately, this fire has completely destroyed the farm’s office.”

“In addition to this, a lot of people use their outbuildings, garages and sheds as working spaces or a place to store electrical items.

“It doesn’t hurt to have a smoke alarm installed in these areas as they are the first thing to alert you if there is a fire. 

“In this case the owners were alerted by their electrics tripping out and the fire was well developed.”

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has advised people to make sure all cigarettes are fully extinguished, to take extra care when tired, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs so cigarettes are extinguished before falling asleep, and to never smoke in bed.

It also advised that ashtrays are heavy and made of material that will not burn, and that people tip ash into an ashtray, never into a wastebasket containing other rubbish.

The fire service also added that people should use child-safe matches and cigarette lighters and keep them safely out of the reach of children, and stressed to make sure smoke alarms are working.