Military firefighters have tackled a Braintree house fire which left one man needing hospital treatment.
RAF crews in a green goddess were called in the early hours of the morning, during the latest 48-hour fire strike.
The ground-floor fire at the property in Rayne Road broke out just after midnight.
A 49-year-old man was believed to have been asleep inside and police alerted him to the flames. He managed to escape and was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, and treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire is not being treated as suspicious.
Next door neighbour Jayne Banks and her family, were woken up by police who evacuated the burning home and neighbouring properties.
She said: "The children were frightened because we knew a fire engine wouldn't be coming and you could see the flames, it looked quite horrendous.
"When the goddess turned up, there seemed to be a problem getting the water out. It did come out, but if it had been five minutes more, it could have taken all the other houses with it.
"I'm not very happy about the fire strike at the moment. It's only just sinking in how close we were to losing our house and that our lives could have been in danger."
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said: "The crew from Braintree and the breathing apparatus team were there within ten minutes of the call out.
"The fire was extinguished but they stayed at the scene, damping down, for an hour afterwards to make sure it was safe. "
Published Wednesday, January 29, 2003
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