Five families have been left temporarily homeless after a fire spread from a shed to three other buildings.
Crews from five stations were called to the blaze at Stapleford Abbotts near Brentwood at about 08:10 BST, the Essex fire service said.
Halstead Fire Station, which is roughly 37 miles away, said it was asked to send its water bowser to the scene.
Incident commander Howard Midwood said crews worked hard despite there being “poor water supplies to the site”.
“Unfortunately five families have been made temporarily homeless due to the fire and smoke damage to their properties,” he said.
Mr Midwood said the cause of the fire was recorded as accidental.
A spokesperson from Halstead Fire Station said, that at its height, the blaze could be seen from the M25.
