Tavistock firefighters have been fighting an increase in heat-related wildfires, adding to their workload in the prolonged dry weather.

One wildfire threatened to spread to a field and farmhouse near Lifton after a tractor and bailing machine caught alight, resulting in more than 50 firefighters joining the fight from 12 stations.

A Tavistock Fire Station spokesman said: “We are going through tough times and extra hard work for the fire service at the moment with the current weather situation. We are getting a lot of heat-related calls to deal with alongside our normal callouts.

“Last weekend (July 11/12) was a particularly busy weekend for us as well as all the surrounding stations. On Saturday we attended a farm workshop fire in Launceston to support Launceston, Callington and Liskeard where a farmhouse building was well alight.

“This was followed this we were sent to Plymouth to cover Greenbank area where we attended a garden fire and two fire alarm activations.”

On Sunday, shortly before midnight the Tavistock crew and Launceston, Okehampton and Bere Alston crews attended a tractor and bailer on fire in a field of bailed straw near Lifton.

“We were faced with a rapidly spreading fire which had already consumed the whole field and was spreading to the next. Crews used and requested extra vehicles and equipment to stop the flames heading for other fields and a farmhouse.”

A total of eight appliances were requested, two 4x4 vehicles and two water bowsers from Crownhill and Liskeard.

Crews also attended from Launceston, Okehampton, Bere Alston, Princetown, Bodmin, Callington, Bovey Tracey, Plympton and Holsworthy, with a welfare unit from Ivybridge and a command unit from Honiton. A total of 54 firefighters attended at the height of the fire with more appliances coming in overnight to dampen down any hot spots

Crews returned at 4.30am on Monday (July 13) to make a final check that everything was fully out.

The Tavistock station spokesman added: “Please be really careful, whilst it is so dry, please don’t have bonfires, barbecues or any type of fires where there is any possibility it could spread and if you have to, we ask you to stay with it at all times and have an extinguishing media until it is out.

“The majority of fires start small but will spread fast in these conditions Consider carrying an extinguisher with you if you are working in a tractor or farm machinery especially when carry out work in dry fields, it may help and save your vehicles and in this case over 30 acres of straw if caught early.”

The fire service thanked farmers, who are also having a ‘challenging time’, for helping the firefighting operations by cutting fire breaks and smothering areas with soil. They also thanked the farmers for providing much needed drinks throughout Sunday.

The firefighters also publicly thanked their ‘exceptionally busy’ control room for accurately pinpointing the location of the caller within seconds of the initial call, saving vital time and then allocating the incident the right appliances and equipment.

A farm vehicle destroyed by fire during the heatwave, as Tavistock Firefighters tackle numerous wildfires.
A farm vehicle destroyed by fire during the heatwave, as Tavistock Firefighters tackle numerous wildfires including a serious blaze which started in this tractor and bailer. (Tavistock Fire Station)
Tavistock Firefighters tackle numerous wildfires in West Devon and beyond. Pictured are their multi-terrain vehicles and a mobile operational and welfare centre.
Tavistock firefighters tackle numerous wildfires in West Devon and beyond. Pictured are their multi-terrain vehicles and a mobile operational and welfare centre at a major wild fire near Lifton. (Tavistock Fire Station)