A farmer has told how he has lost his entire winter supply of straw due to an extensive farm fire which also damaged farm machinery and lambing equipment.
James Alexander, from Toomebridge, Co Antrim, has now been left with huge financial losses. He predicts the bill for damages could run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The incident occurred on 5 November at around 8.30pm. The blaze rapidly grew and took hold of Mr Alexander's farm building, destroying everything in its path. Firefighters worked for 20 hours to help put it out.
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service said: “Firefighters dealt with a fire involving straw in a shed approximately 70 metres in length and 60 metres in breadth. It was well alight on arrival.
“Firefighters assisted a farmer in removing livestock from the shed. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the incident was dealt with at 6.51pm on the Monday (6th November).”
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, a PSNI spokesperson said.
The loss of Mr Alexander's entire winter supply of straw comes at a time when Northern Ireland is experiencing a severe straw shortage, mainly due to constant wet weather.
A sharp rise in farm fires has prompted NFU Mutual 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.
