Lancashire's Mrs Dowsons Farm suffers one of their “toughest days” ever as fire breaks out in barn

At 10:16pm on Monday, Lancashire Fire and Rescue service confirmed that eight fire engines, an Aerial Ladder Platform, Command Unit and Water Bowser, were in attendance at a commercial building on Longsight Road in Clayton-le-Dale where 40 tonnes of hay were "well alight".

Yesterday, Mrs Dowsons Farm in Clayton-le-Dale confirmed the fire took place in one of their barns, describing it as “one of the toughest days in the farm's long history.”

The farm, which hosts popular ‘lambing live’ events each year, explained that their farmers called emergency services after nearly 40 tonnes of straw bales, used for bedding animals, caught fire late Monday evening. 

Animals in nearby buildings were evacuated into fields away as firefighters and the farmers tackled the blaze.

Firefighters used two breathing apparatus, two jets and two ground monitors to bring the fire under control, whilst farm tractors were used to pull apart the stacks of straw bales away from the barns and buildings to be extinguished.

In a statement, the managers of Mrs Dowsons Farm wrote: "Yesterday was one of the toughest days in the farm's long history. The remarkable efforts from our family, farm team and the emergency services meant the fire was extinguished as quickly as possible. Farmers were able to evacuate lambs from the Lambing Live barn as well as the farm's own dairy herd to safety.

The work now begins on rebuilding animal pens and barns at the rear of the working farm as well as relocating some of the 'Lambing Live' event which opened on the 9th March and runs until 19th May '24.

“The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but we will be working to investigate over the coming days and weeks. We would again, like to thank the emergency services for their swift response. "

Mrs Dowsons Farm added that they believed the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion.

A spokesperson explained: “Spontaneous combustion in bales is a phenomenon that means they can ignite without an external heat source.

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"Moisture content is the main factor that causes hay and straw to spontaneously combust.

"Hay fires are more common than straw fires, for reasons involving the type of forage, the moisture content in the stored forage, and heat production.”

The Farm Park is scheduled to open as normal this weekend without disruption to visitors.