A large barn fire near Beaminster yesterday had to be left to burn after the structure became unsafe.
The fire service was called just after 11am yesterday (Thursday) morning with reports of a barn full of hay and machinery on fire on a farm in Childhay.
Fire crews from Beaminster, Bridport, Chard, Crewkerne, Yeovil and Axminster were mobilised.
On arriving at the scene they found a large hay barn and one of the farm machines it was holding well alight.
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Firefighters used water from a nearby river to fight the fire while, wearing breathing apparatus, they removed as much hay as was possible from the barn and spread it in a neighbouring field using the farm's telehandler.
However, the temperature inside the barn became to high that its steel frame began to fail.
This meant it was no longer safe for fire crews to enter, so they decided to allow the fire to burn under a watching brief.
Crews from Bridport, Lyme Regis, Sherborne and Weymouth relieved the first crews to prevent the fire spreading.
The extent of the damage to the barn and its contents is not yet known.
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