Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service are hosting a free event to help keep rural community safe from fire

Due to an increase in fires involving agricultural and rural premises, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is inviting people to a free event to help keep farms, rural businesses and property safe from fire this summer.

The Service has seen a significant rise in farm fires, with over 74% of incidents starting in a barn. These fires can easily start, especially if hay and straw is stored incorrectly. Also with around 40% of farm fires being started deliberately, it’s important that those responsible for rural businesses know how to protect their property from this risk.

The free 'Farm Fire Safety' event takes place on Thursday 25 May and is open to anyone involved in agriculture, including farmers and farm managers, rural businesses, vets, equestrians, landlords, land agents, agricultural students, farming tenants and people who run farm holiday accommodation or recreational businesses.

Run by the Protection Team at the Training Centre in Sadler Road, Winsford, the half day starts at 9.30am and finishes at 1.30pm, with lunch provided. Attendees must book a place on the event using the link below to ensure their place is confirmed and catered for.

Group Manager Lee McGarity said: “I’d encourage anyone with a rural connection to come along and listen to our advice. Having personally attended many rural fires, I know how devastating they can be. A fire can sadly result in the loss of machinery, livestock, stores of hay and straw and cause destruction to valuable buildings, some of which may have been in farming families for generations.

“We know that around 40% of businesses that suffer a serious fire never trade successfully again, so it’s vital that we all work together to help prevent fires from starting at any time of the year.”

Delegates attending the event will learn how to keep their farm safe and hear about simple solutions to prevent fires from starting. Animal safety and rescues will also be a topic of conversation, along with how to store chemicals correctly and what to do with them when they are no longer needed.

There will also be an opportunity for representatives from the farming community to ask questions and network with others in the same field of work.

Lee added: “Attending fires in a rural location can often involve many of our resources, which can have a huge impact on our organisation. Firefighters can often spend several days and nights on the scene of a farm fire to ensure it has been fully extinguished, therefore committing several of our crews for long periods of time."

“The next few months will see the return of summer, with temperatures set to increase, so I would therefore encourage anyone with an interest to take a couple of hours out of their busy schedule to come along to this informative morning.”

The event will be held at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre at Sadler Road in Winsford, CW7 2FQ on Thursday 25 May 2023, starting at 09:30am until 1:30pm.  

For more information and to book a place on our Farm Fire Safety event you can click here, you can also call the team on 01606 868700.