25 January 2008

Firefighters rescued a number of piglets this morning after a fire broke out at a farm in Great Horwood. They were able to resuscitate some of them by giving them oxygen.

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service were called at 8.20am to the farm in Winslow Road where a unit housing about 1,000 piglets was already well alight. Unfortunately around 250 piglets died as a result of the fire

Crews from Winslow, Buckingham and Bletchley attended the incident and used breathing apparatus and hose reels to bring the fire under control.

Watch Manager Ian Chapman, officer in charge of the incident, said: “The fire was well established when we arrived, however the farmer had made significant steps to minimise the spread of the fire using fire extinguishers.

“The crews worked hard to bring the fire under control and prevent it from taking hold of the whole unit, and were able to help rescue many piglets from the unit."