Fire crews were alerted to a serious machinery fire involving a combine harvester in the Suffolk area of England over the weekend, which involved the help of local farmers.
Last Saturday evening (August 9), fire crews from Woodbridge were mobilised to reports of a combine harvester on fire in a field.
As the crew were en route to the incident, a large plume of smoke could be seen.
A first impressions message was sent stating ‘large smoke plume and flames seen in distance’. This is used to give oncoming crews further information as to the extent of the incident.
On arrival, the Woodbridge crew who are part of the wider Suffolk Fore & Rescue Service deployed a 45mm hose to deliver water onto the fire.
The next oncoming appliance committed two BA (breathing apparatus) wearers into the risk area to continue extinguishing.
The farmers utilised their own water bowser to flood the area around the combine harvester to prevent further fire spread.
Additional appliances provided a water shuttle from a nearby hydrant to the incident ground and fire appliances from Woodbridge, Princes Street, Holbrook, and Ipswich East all attended the scene to bring the blazer under control.
Other fire alerts
It was the second time in the past week that teams from Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service were called out to blazes in an agricultural setting.
Last Thursday (August 7) Woodbridge fire crews were also mobilised to reports of a stack fire. On arrival, the crews found 200t of stacked straw alight.
An assistance message was sent requesting additional resources and a water bowser. Crews maintained a watching brief and dampened down the surrounding area to prevent fire spread.
Relief crews were requested to swap out appliances that had been at the incident overnight and crews continued to monitor the fire into Sunday morning.
Appliances attended the straw fire from the following stations:
- Woodbridge;
- Saxmundham;
- Framlingham;
- Ipswich East;
- Leiston (water carrier).
Weather and drought
The UK’s National Drought Group met earlier this week (Monday, August 11) with the current water shortfall situation in England now defined as a “nationally significant incident” .
Five areas are officially in drought, with six more experiencing prolonged dry weather following the driest six months to July since 1976.
Despite the unsettled weather last month, many river flows and reservoir levels in England continued to recede compared to June.
Rainstorms and showers helped mask the fact that July was still the fifth warmest on record.
August has started to see a return of drier conditions and the fourth heatwave of the summer – putting more pressure on already struggling public water supplies and navigational waterways.
The National Drought Group – which includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Canal & River Trust, anglers, and conservation experts – used the meeting to highlight the water-saving measures each sector is taking.
