Thousands of French partridges were saved as firefighters tackled a blaze at a barn in Sible Hedingham during the early hours of this morning (Friday).
Firefighters were called to Kentish Farm, Devlin End at 2.30am after fire broke out in a barn containing wood flooring materials and two large propane cylinders.
A poultry shed containing several thousand french partridges was very close by.
Firefighters reported that the fire was under control by about 3.30am, but that the shed had collapsed. Essex County Fire & Rescue Service (ECFRS) confirmed that the gas cylinders were involved and these had to be cooled.
A two pump relief was also sent in to take over from crews who had worked through the night.
In total seven appliances took almost seven hours to put the fire out and prevent it from spreading to the poultry shed.
Sub officer Darren Hockley, from Wethersfield Fire Station, said: “The good news is that no French partridges were hurt as a result of this fire. There were three sheds on the farm and thankfully the one housing the birds was not affected.
“The storage shed on fire contained wooden flooring and two large propane cylinders. Close by, there were thousands of partridges in a second shed and crews worked extremely hard to prevent the fire from spreading there. If the fire had reached the poultry shed, I have no doubt the birds would have all died.
“Crews did an excellent job containg the fire to save the birds. The third shed contained furniture and was unaffected.”
The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage, ECFRS and the police will carry out an investigation.
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