Farm blaze family say 'Thanks, good neighbours'

A TORRINGTON farming family this week thanked the large number of family, friends, neighbours and emergency service teams who rallied to their aid when a fire started in barns close to their home. Glen and Della Bealey of Week Farm, Torrington, had three

A TORRINGTON farming family this week thanked the large number of family, friends, neighbours and emergency service teams who rallied to their aid when a fire started in barns close to their home.Glen and Della Bealey of Week Farm, Torrington, had three barns severely damaged, lost valuable machinery, tons of straw and wheat in the blaze on Thursday evening.Two people had to be treated for smoke inhalation and a horse kept in one of the barns was scorched on its back before it could be rescued. Cattle were released into a field unharmed.Glen's sister, Linda, needed treatment by paramedics after helping to douse machinery with buckets of water when a lighted straw bale fell on to it. And Carlie Nightingale, whose horse was in the barn, also needed attention .But as they were beginning to clear up the next day, Mr Bealey's first thought was to thank those who had come from a wide area to help out his family.They included 15 fire crews from 13 stations across Torridge and North Devon who worked through the night in shifts.Fellow farmers turned up with tankers of water from as far afield as Littleham, Roborough and St Giles. A fire service bowser made constant runs to the nearby Hatchmoor Industrial Estate to fetch more water and a farm pond was also used to augment the supply.Cousins Kenton and Stafford Bealey came from St Giles with tractors and helped pull machinery from the blaze. Other helpers worked throughout the night to save what they could.At one time 25 people were helping to provide tea and sandwiches to sustain those fighting the outbreak, said Glen. The Salvation Army also turned up and cooked breakfast for everyone.Western Power isolated power cables and also loaned a generator so they could restore lost power to the farmhouse, for which they were very grateful, he said."Help from neighbours and friends and messages of good wishes were amazing. People offered to do anything they could to help. Even a women's group in the North Tawton area prayed for rain and it came, helping to damp down the fire."He and his wife were having tea in the farmhouse with their three daughters and knew nothing of the outbreak until he received a telephone call from Mike Squires at the nearby rugby club, said Glen."I thought he had just seen heat rising from our compost heap. But he insisted it was a big fire and we needed to call the fire brigade. His call saved us vital time. We had noticed the house lights flickering, but just thought it was a storm brewing. When I opened the door I could see sheets on the shed roof flickering and hear them cracking, like gunshots going off. It all spread so quickly."It was believed the fire was started by large straw bales combusting and the prevailing wind helped to oxygenate the fire. But they were lucky that the wind took the fire away from the farmhouse, said Glen.