Barn destroyed by huge blaze in mid-Cornwall had two tonnes of ammonium nitrate inside
All emergency services, Cornwall Council, the Environment Agency, Public Health England, and the Met Office were involved
Last updated 4th May 2021
It has been confirmed that a barn, gutted by a huge fire in mid-Cornwall, had two tonnes of ammonium nitrate inside.
Six homes were evacuated at Gummows Shop near Summercourt, amid fears the chemical, commonly used in farming as a fertiliser, could have caused an explosion.
Firefighters from Penzance to Launceston were scrambled just before lunchtime on Bank Holiday Monday.
The multi-agency incident involved all emergency services, along with Cornwall Council, Public Health England, the Environment Agency and the Met Office.
The Met Office, which had already issued a weather warning for strong winds, has confirmed that a forecaster was giving the fire service advice on smoke distribution, wind speed and direction.
Sally Gingell runs The Big Dog House kennels nearby and was among those told to keep doors and windows closed.
"We had lots of fire engines going up and down our road to this huge barn fire.
"You could see, not the flames, but you could see huge, billowing smoke coming out. It just was absolutely ablaze.
"With the holiday season as it is now, you usually expect it to be a traffic accident but no. We could see the smoke coming up and it's quite a little way away to see smoke.
"All the people in this little area were told to stay indoors with our windows and doors shut because I'm not sure they knew what they were dealing with down there initially.
"But it has upset the horses that I've got here in the stables. They've been whinnying because I expect they can smell the smoke".
Sally added that the operation must have been hampered by the weather: "You couldn't really smell very much because the wind was just horrendous.
"It was absolutely blowing a gale and pouring with fine rain; it was just horrendous out there. To put a fire out in this, I should imagine, was really difficult".
Sally Gingell, Big Dog House Kennels
The fire broke out at around 11.45am on Monday and was not being scaled down until 6.30pm.
At its height, crews from Newquay, Truro, Perranporth, St Columb, St Dennis, Wadebridge, St Austell, Tolvaddon, Liskeard, Penzance and Launceston were battling the blaze.
Teams from Padstow and St Columb have been on scene overnight monitoring for hotspots and damping down.
Cornwall CFO, Mark Hewitt, has since tweeted to thank all the crews and partner agencies for their hard work to bring the fire under control and in establishing an emergency plan.
"Thanks team @CornwallFRS and all agencies that supported us today.
"Not forgetting our #heroesinheadsets who I saw first hand professionally & calmly handling multiple 999 calls and mobilisations today whilst in headquarters".
CFO Mark Hewitt
The A3076 was closed between the Mitchell turn-off on the A30 and the A3058, however the road has since reopened.
At 4pm on Tuesday Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that a crew from St Austell is on the scene and the water carrier from Wadebridge has been requested as the smouldering hay pile within the barn is now being removed with the assistance of the farmer.
Crews are damping down using hose reel jets.
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