Garage fire destroys home, workshop and cars

Cars, a workshop and an adjoining home were completely destroyed after a vehicle caught fire days after reportedly failing its MOT.

Fire crews from Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire were deployed to D and K Vehicle Services at Slade Farm, Little Walden, Essex, at 12:22 BST on Friday.

At the height of the blaze, there were 10 fire engines, a water bowser, and a turntable ladder at the scene. The fire was extinguished by 16:00 and deemed accidental.

Mechanic Callum Ogborn, one of the firm's four directors, said "the entire workshop" had been lost, as well as his father and stepmother's home, which they had "spent the last 10 years painstakingly building".

"To say we are gutted is an understatement. It was absolutely heartbreaking and devastating to see everything just go up in flames," he said.

"We aren't sure what the next steps are going to be."

The 1990s petrol vehicle, imported from Japan, caught fire on the workshop's MOT ramp, having failed its test four days earlier.

The workshop rapidly "filled with smoke", he said.

"I did try to extinguish the flames but unfortunately it didn't do much in the way of putting the fire out and it just went up so quickly, once it had started there was just no stopping it," he told the BBC.

"Two vehicles are a complete loss and there are five or six in the car park that have suffered damage due to the extreme heat."

Essex Fire and Rescue Service said the fire proved "particularly challenging" due to limited water supply and the presence of acetylene cylinders.

Crews from Saffron Walden, Wethersfield, Leaden Roding and Harlow were among those sent.

After the fire was extinguished, some remained to monitor and cool any hotspots.

Andy Message, group manager, said: "Firefighters worked extremely hard with the support of crews from neighbouring counties to extinguish the fire."

After the fire, a fundraising page was launched to support the family but specifically Ogborn's father, who had converted an old barn into his home and family business.

"He spent years working towards his dream and in just a few short hours, this has all been taken from him," the fundraising page said.

Ogborn said the family had "more or less been building from the ground up for the last 10 years".

"My dad took the business on when his old boss retired as that is where he worked from the day he left high school, so it's been established for a long time," he added.

"My dad and stepmum have painstakingly renovated the adjoining barn over the same time period at weekends and evenings, so it was absolutely soul-destroying."

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