Farm worker suffers burn injuries following fire in Aberdeenshire

A farm worker has been taken to hospital with burn injuries following an extensive fire on a Scottish farm.

The blaze, which tore through a farm in Fowlershill on the outskirts of Aberdeen on Sunday (18 March), prompted eight fire units from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to the scene.

A storage building has been completely destroyed and a farm worker rushed to hospital.

Farmer Norman Fiddes told BBC Scotland: “He's ok. It's minor things at the back of his hands. He was trying to retrieve some personal belongings but he got one or two things but decided to come out.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Operations Control mobilised a number of resources to the scene, where crews currently remain in attendance.

“One casualty was passed into the care of Scottish Ambulance Service personnel and is being transported to hospital.

“Crews will remain at the scene until the area is made safe.”

A sharp rise in farm fires has prompted a rural insurer to call for farmers to check their fire prevention and evacuation procedures.

NFU Mutual’s claims statistics reveal that the cost of farm fire claims rose by an alarming 26% to £44m in 2016.

The most common cause of farm fires was electrical faults, which were responsible for almost half of 2016 fire claims, according to the insurer. Arson was the next most common cause.