Barn fire - six horses rescued

Firefighters were called to reports of a barn fire in Little Totham on Thursday evening.

On arrival, crews confirmed that the barn was around 50% alight. The barn, which measures approximately 40 metres by 20 metres, contained roughly 50 tonnes of baled straw as well as agricultural machinery.

Given the remote location of the fire, the officer-in-charge requested the support of a water bowser. The water bowser carries a large amount of water, helping to support firefighters with a good supply for a longer period of time.

The fire was surrounded by 8.45pm. Crews managed to prevent it spreading to a nearby stable building. Six horses, which were in the stable at the time, were led to safety and unharmed.

Firefighters were continuing to tackle the fire at 9.30pm. The fire was still surrounded, but due to the amount of straw and materials inside the premises, crews expected this to be a protracted incident and to be at the scene for some time.

At 10.30pm, firefighters reported that the fire was under control. The incident was scaled down to two crews.

Crews managed a controlled burn of the material inside the barn throughout the early hours of Friday morning.

One crew remained at the scene at 7am on Friday. The fire was out, but crews were continuing to eliminate hotspots and make sure the area was safe before leaving the scene.

We believe this fire was caused accidentally.