Through fields close to Heathrow
A FARMER whose winter barley field was engulfed in flames has praised firefighters and his “very brave” workers for the way they tackled a vicious blaze which caused £28,000-worth of damage to his fields near Heathrow.
Farmer Colin Rayner, 60, from Windsor says the fire which destroyed more than 20 hectares of his Colnbrook farmland was a “terrifying and dangerous ordeal” and the “most ferocious” he’s ever seen.
Speaking to GetWestLondon Mr Rayner said: “We’ve had fires before but nothing as ferocious and as fast as the one on Monday. Normally when you have a fire you lose a couple of hectares but because the ground was so dry it ripped through the field in seconds - it was a fire ball.”
He added: “I saw smoke going up from our field while I was in the yard where I was working and then climbed up the grain tower to find it was our field that was on fire. I called the fire brigade and then we knew it was going to be 15 to 20 minutes before they got here so we have a plan of action when fires happen.”
Mr Rayner and five of his men headed to the field with large tractors to try and stop the flames spreading. The tractors were used to dig up crops and bury them in the ground to make fire breaks, so that when the fire reached them there would be no crops to burn – just dirt.
Mr Rayner said: “Six of us went out to the field, including my uncle who’s in his late 80s.
“I went out with a JCB load or two of water to help put out the fire with. And we were just trying to stop the fire spreading because we have a school on the boundary of our farm, Colnbrook Primary, and there’s also a housing estate and a petrol station nearby, so it was vital we stopped the fire from spreading.
“Once it gets into houses you’re in deep trouble, you’ve got no way of controlling it.”
Terrifying pictures taken by Mr Rayner at the scene of the fire show the field engulfed in huge flames.
Pictures show huge fire destroy field of crops
According to Mr Rayner, one of his staff had a lucky escape after the tractor he was working in caught alight.
Mr Rayner said: “Embers from the fire got under the hood of the tractor and set it alight – my man escaped fine although his pride was hurt. The firefighters put the flames out when they arrived.
“When there’s very thick smoke and you’re driving through it you don’t know what’s on the other side, it could be a firefighter or it could be another tractor – I got lost in the smoke and it was frightening.
“I got cornered in the JCB and had to drive through the flames to get out of danger – it was scary. We’ve learnt that when dealing with fires in future we should always keep in front of the flames.”
When asked how he was dealing with the aftermath of the fire he said: “We’re going to harvest the rest of the field, what we managed to save. We can’t save any of the crop, all the seeds are on the floor.”
He added: “I’m very grateful to all of my staff – it’s not part of their job to fight fires but all my chaps are farmers and they just jump in and do it and they were very brave to.”
In a Facebook post on the day of the fire, Mr Rayner wrote: “We have just had the fire we hoping to avoid. We just lost a 28ha field of barley.
“My men tried to put it out by making fire making fire breaks with cultivators and spraying water from water bowsers. “We were helped by dozens of firemen from London, Surrey and Berkshire, and I would like to thank them for their hard work while putting themselves at risk.
“It was a terrifying and dangerous ordeal with one of our tractors which was making a fire break catching fire. Luckily, my man got out in time.
“We had to stop the fire as we have primary school on the boundary of the field and large housing estate and petrol station nearby.
“My men put their lives in danger to stop the fire spreading into these populated areas; for which I am very grateful.
“We believe that the fire started on the public footpath that runs through the farm. We were not working in the field at time.”
A Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “At 2.17pm on Monday [July 9] we received reports of a fire in a field near Moreland Avenue in Colnbrook, Slough.
“Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) crews from Langley, Slough, Ascot, Windsor and Wokingham Fire Stations were sent to the scene.