A chip pan fire which sent flames shooting to the ceiling was put out before the fire brigade arrived.

The assistant manager at the Crown Harvester Restaurant, in Langdon Hills, smelt smoke from the flat above and went down to a smoke-filled kitchen. Using a couple of fire extinguishers she managed to put the chip pan fire out.

Firefighters from Basildon were called just to check everything was OK.

Station officer Colin Lidbury said: "It was a small fire but the potential was there."

Published Friday October 25, 2002

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