Devastating barns fire at Ower farm prompts fundraising campaign for owners by The Compass Inn pub at Winsor
A PUB launched an online fundraising campaign for the owners of an Ower farm that suffered a devastating fire, destroying its livestock’s winter feed.
Firefighters from across Hampshire battled for nearly 40 hours to contain the inferno engulfing three barns of about 500 hay bales at the site off the A36 Salisbury Road as nearby residents were told to keep doors and windows closed.
The alarm was first raised around 4pm last Monday, with initial reports of a campervan on fire.
But the flames soon spread to the nearby outbuildings and, by 6.15pm, eight fire engines, plus water carriers and other specialist vehicles, were on scene.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service asked drivers to take care in the area around junction two on the M27.
Salisbury Road’s northbound carriageway was reported shut around 5.30am last Tuesday due to firefighting equipment. This closure lifted shortly after 8.30am.
The response was scaled down to three fire engines by 1.30am, but crews continued to work on rotation damping down until around 7.45am last Wednesday.
An HIWFRS spokesperson said: “Firefighters from more than 20 different Hampshire stations attended the fire over the course of the incident, which was scaled down to a three-fire engine attendance on Tuesday.
“HIWFRS teams worked closely with onsite farm staff to dampen down the hay.
“The incident has now been handed over to the farmer who will continue to treat the smouldering hay as a controlled burn, which is expected to last for a couple of days.”
Staff at The Compass Inn at Winsor, which is less than a mile from the farm, were moved to help out in the wake of the fire.
They launched a GoFundMe page, aiming to raise £5,000 to enable the young farming couple to feed their livestock over the winter.
By Wednesday, contributors had helped bring total donations to nearly £2,500.
The page said: “We are hoping to raise what we can to help support feeding their livestock during this difficult time ahead of the winter months. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.”
No details as to the cause of the blaze were available from HIWFRS.
Donations can be made at tinyurl.com/3szf5brr
