Grays high rise evacuated after incident Cllr Barry Johnson, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “Thankfully this was only a small incident where smoke was created from some burned food, and there was no actual fire to extinguish. The procedures that we have in place in case of any fires were immediately put into action, with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service quickly implementing their full high rise blocks firefighting procedure. “Residents on the on the 11th floor were safely escorted from the block as a precaution because this is part of this procedure, there was no building damage and all residents were able to return to their properties after the 10th floor had been ventilated to disperse the smoke.