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Alert for farmers

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This includes four fires yesterday (Wednesday 5 September), three in Herefordshire and one in Worcestershire.

At around 12.45pm, the Service was called to a farm in Ledbury where a large field of stubble was on fire. Two fire engines from Ledbury and one from Malvern attended along with the water carrier from Ross-on-Wye and off-road vehicles from Bewdley and Hereford, and the fire was brought under control using beaters, hose reels, water backpacks and extinguishers.

At 6.40pm, two crews from Worcester fire station were called to a fire at a farm in Wichenford involving a baler and firefighters used two hose reels and two drag hooks to extinguish the fire.

Also at 6.40pm, two fire engines and the water carrier from Ross-on-Wye went to a farm in Pencoyd at St Owens Cross to another fire involving a baler and some stubble. Firefighters used two hose reels as they brought the fire under control.

Two fire engines and the water carrier from Leominster fire station were also called out at 7.50pm to a field in Cock Croft in Leominster to a fire involving around two tonnes of hay. Crews used two hose reel jets to extinguish the fire and damp down the hay and surrounding area.

These incidents followed call-outs to two separate combine harvester fires (one in Tenbury Wells and one in Clent) on Tuesday afternoon (4 September), plus several other fires at farms over the last two weeks.

Station Commander Adrian Thompson from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said: “It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of these fires but we do want to make the farming community aware that these incidents have happened and to be extra vigilant themselves.

“We recognise that farmers will be making the most of this prolonged spell of dry weather but we’d urge them to take regular breaks if using agricultural machinery to try to avoid the risk of such an incident occurring.

“We would also encourage them to consider carrying some form of firefighting equipment with them if at all possible as it can take some time for fire crews to reach some of these more rural locations, and a fire in a baler or a tractor can develop very rapidly, causing significant damage to the equipment and the loss of the crop, which can both have a massive financial implication for the farmer.”