Haystack burns

Quick and fierce action by CFA units prevented a haystack fire spreading to other infrastructure on a Cloverlea property on Friday night.

CFA commander Gary Bryant said six units attended the hay shed fire after receiving the call at 11.18pm.

Crews worked through the night and again on Saturday afternoon to ensure the area was safe.

Mr Bryant said when units arrived at the Bona Vista Rd property, they found the hay bales ablaze and hit the fire hard, preventing the fire spreading to the rest of the shed, an adjacent shed that was full of hay and more hay in an open area.

He said about 50 large rectangle bales were on fire.

Mr Bryant said the fire was caused by a spontaneous ignition in the hay.

He said it served as a warning to property owners to ensure hay was stored properly and at the right moisture levels.

Units from DarnumEllinbank, Yarragon, Trafalgar, Warragul, Nilma North and Trida attended and worked until 3.30am to extinguish the fire.

Some structural damage was caused to the shed.

Crews from DarnumEllinbank and Yarragon returned for four hours on Saturday to pull apart the hay and ensure the fire was completely out. During this time, a VicEmergency warning was issued to alert residents to increased smoke in the area.

Mr Bryant said DarnumEllinbank CFA incident controller John Camm said a tank and bore installed at the Darnum-Ellinbank station had assisted units in the quick turn around of vehicles and fire fighting efforts.