Crews were called to a shed fire at a property in Chelmsford at 1.54am, where flames in the garden had already grown taller than the surrounding houses. The blaze, believed to have started from embers from a bonfire, spread quickly along fences, reached the house, and ignited the roof space. Watch manager Steve Joyce, from Chelmsford Fire Station, said: "This incident shows the dangers of how having a bonfire in this hot and dry weather can cause devastating fires. "Three homes have been damaged, one completely destroyed, and families, some with children, woke up in the night to terrifying scenes of flames taller than their houses." "Where everything is so dry and flammable at the moment, it took minutes for embers to spread."