Southend firefighters were called to a block of flats to find a "guy" well alight in the lift.
Fire crews from Southend and Leigh attended the scene at Malvern flats, Coleman Street, Southend at about 6pm last Thursday.
They had to call the lift down to the ground floor and when they opened the doors were faced with the man-made guy which was well alight.
Sub Officer Daron Driscoll of Southend fire said: "We were able to call the lift down with a special fire button we can use.
"It was lucky no-one else had called the lift as when the doors opened they would have been faced with a ball of fire, and it could have been very nasty. The fire was also blocking access for people who wanted to get out of the building and that could have been very hazardous."
Published Monday July 19, 2004
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