A SHED and multiple gardens have been damaged in a fire started by a weed burner in Basildon.
Crews from Basildon Fire Station were called to the Rantree Fold property yesterday afternoon and managed to stop the fire from spreading further.
The resident had been burning weeds when they accidentally started the fire, which quickly spread due to the hot and dry weather.
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Watch manager Rob Fossett said: “The resident was using a weed burner which unfortunately caught a shed alight. Because it is so hot and dry, it quickly spread to neighbouring gardens.
“Crews worked quickly to stop the fire spreading to houses and a nearby park. We’d recommend you avoid using weed burners generally as they often cause fires, especially in dry conditions throughout summer.
“If you are going to use them, we’d advise you use them carefully and keep water on hand while using them as it only takes an ember in dry conditions to start a fire. Then make sure they are fully cooled down before storing them.”
A weed burner, sometimes called a flame burner, is a gardening tool that can generate a flame used to burn a weed and prevent it from growing again.
Firefighters were on the scene at Rantree Fold within five minutes of being called.