People living near the fire - which happened close to the village of Rettendon, south of Chelmsford - were urged to keep their windows closed as smoke spread. He said "everybody at the scene is safe" but that residents have been evacuated. Crews are expected to remain on site for the rest of Saturday, and smoke is still coming from the scene, the fire service added. East of England Ambulance Service said its hazardous area response team and the police were also in attendance. Earlier on Friday evening, Bond said there was still "significant smoke" at the scene, but he believed that the fire had been "surrounded".