A fire crew was out on another job when a blaze on the UK's hottest day devastated the village they're based in.
At least nine homes were destroyed in Wennington, Essex, after a compost fire burnt out of control.
Villagers raised the alarm when they noticed smoke coming from a neighbour's compost heap on Tuesday lunchtime.
But the on-duty crew at Wennington Fire Station was on another call five miles away, The Telegraph reports.
Hundreds of grass fires and other blazes contributed to make it the London Fire Brigade’s busiest day since World War II.
A crew from Orpington in Kent raced to deal with the Wennington blaze, arriving seven minutes after the alarm was raised at 1.06pm.
By that point the fire had already spread to neighbouring gardens, homes and fields.
Victoria Schafer, who was with boyfriend Alfie Stock and his parents when the fire began, said in quotes reported by The Telegraph: “We were just sitting at home relaxing when we smelt smoke.
“It was from next door’s compost. Alfie and his dad Tim were trying to put it out using a hose from the roof, but it caught so quickly it ran out of control in minutes. It was terrifying.”
Ms Schafer, 26, praised the response of fire crews, with several engines swiftly joining the initial response.
After realising they were in danger, the family grabbed a small amount of possessions and fled.
Ms Schafer added: “Both our house and our neighbour’s are gone, completely gone.”
Displaced villagers gathered at St Mary and St Peter’s church until the blaze swept close enough that they were forced to flee from there too.
Tim Stock, 66, a gravedigger, remained thankful that the fire did not take a greater human toll despite his house being among those destroyed.
“When they let us back in we’ll start clearing the rubble and then I’ll put a couple of mobile homes on the site. That’ll do us,” he said.
“Nobody died, thankfully. That’s the main thing and we’re happy to be alive. We’ll sort it out. Life has to go on doesn’t it?”
Local Labour MP Jon Cruddas said in The Telegraph: “It’s been traumatic. It’s not just bricks and mortar that has been lost, it’s people’s memories built up in family homes over the years.”
