Firefighters tackled a blaze in a factory after an extractor fan caught alight.
The fire created a smoke-logged building at KeyMed in Temple Farm, Southend, which develops and manufactures medical and industrial products.
Fire alarms quickly alerted staff who safely evacuated the building at about 7pm on Tuesday.
A fire service spokesman said: "It turned out to be an extractor fan that takes metal and plastic filings out of thing they are making and this filings had built up and got hot.
"The whole building was smoke logged and the extractor machine was completely destroyed.
"When we arrived we couldn't see where the fire was but once we found where it was it didn't take long to put out."
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