Over 24 hours to extinguish barn blaze near Wells

Fire crews spent over 24 hours extinguishing a massive barn blaze near Wells on Wednesday.

Severe damage was done to the Broadway barn and its contents which included farm machinery and four tonnes of animal feed and hay which were completely destroyed.

On arrival at the scene in Chilcompton, near Wells, fire crews reported that a five bay barn containing 100 tonnes of straw was 'well alight' and requested back-up crews.

It was later confirmed that the cause of the fire was due to an alight tractor and trailer within the barn.

Livestock in the vicinity had to be moved to a safer area before the crews got to work extinguishing the blaze.

Crews managed to isolate the electric supply to the barn and reported minor asbestos within. A building control inspector was requested and The Red Cross Fire and Emergency Support Services were also mobilised.

Steady progress was made throughout Wednesday however relief fire crews had to take over firefighting at many different points during the day.

In the early evening of Wednesday firefighters were forced to stop due to the barn's unstable structure and the wind speed.

At 8am on Thursday morning it was reported that the crews were able to resume the turning over and dampning down of contents. This continued  until 1.45pm on Thursday morning when the fire was finally out.

No persons were injured in the blaze which is believed to be accidental.