Barn engulfed in massive fire in village near Market Drayton
Firefighters from all over Shropshire have been battling a large fire that engulfed a barn near a small village.
The Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service was alerted soon after midnight today of a fully-developed fire at a single storey barn at Longford, near Market Drayton.
The barn measures about 20m by 10m and contained hay and machinery, firefighters said.
In a statement, the Market Drayton fire station team said: "At 00.20am on Saturday the rescue pumps from Market Drayton and Hodnet, a light pumping unit and support pump from Craven Arms, a water carrier from Oswestry and an operations officer from headquarters were all mobilised to reports of a barn on fire in Longford near Market Drayton.
"Six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus immediately began carrying out rapid and assertive firefighting using hose reel jets, to prevent the fire spreading to another nearby barn.
"Other firefighters set about establishing an additional water supply to the incident from a nearby hydrant.
"Through the hard work of the crews the fire was prevented from spreading to the nearby building, so the light pumping unit and water carrier were stood down and returned to their home stations.
"The fire was brought under control within approximately 45 minutes of the arrival of the first appliance, with the Market Drayton and Hodnet crews remaining at the scene damping down and turning over the burning hay, before being relieved by crews from Shrewsbury and Telford at 4am.
"A specialist fire investigation officer attended the scene to assist in establishing the cause of the fire. At this moment in time the fire is believed to have started accidentally.
"We are pleased to report that there were no persons injured at this incident and that some nearby horses were also unharmed.
"Crews are likely to remain at the scene until mid morning."
