In the early hours of Sunday morning on 25 October 1998, Tom French received a phone call from his elderly mother to say their straw shed was engulfed in flames.

“It was the kind of phone call you never forget,’ says Tom, a beef and arable farmer near Crawfordjohn in South Lanarkshire. “We’d had a number of fires in the area over the previous number of years, but you never think it will be your farm.”

Within 20 minutes, fire crews were at the farm and battling the fire. However, it took three visits from them until the fire was fully under control.

“By then, the damage caused was extensive. In addition to the 60t of straw and the shed it was stored in being destroyed, 60t of barley also had to be dumped and a combine harvester was damaged beyond repair.

“While the loss of the property and inputs was hard to take, it’s everything that comes with it afterwards that you just don’t realise until it’s happened. We had to source alternative bedding and alternative feed as the barley had been heated beyond use. The combine had to be replaced of course for the next season and it wasn’t until 15 months later in the spring of 2000 that there was a replacement shed built on the farm,” Tom reflects.

Stress

The period after the fire placed a lot of physical and emotional stress on the French family.

“My father was due in hospital for an operation in the month after the fire and when something like this happens you begin to wonder about your family’s safety. It was a long number of weeks and months but it’s probably always in the back of my mind now.”

While the cause of the fire was never fully established, arson was suspected. “It is frustrating that something from outside the farm’s control is likely to have caused so much damage to it,” says Tom. As autumn begins to turn to winter, the level of fire risk starts to rise. Straw that has been successfully baled in tough conditions is being brought into sheds around the country and this in turn places flammable material in tight spaces. It is something that Tom is now hesitant to do – he now keeps all his straw outdoors.

Fire safety

“Fire safety is without doubt one of the first things I think about now. As well as keeping all straw outdoors I also make a conscious effort to remove any ignition sources from other flammable material. For example, I turn off all electricity to the yard once I leave it and even while it’s on I make sure there’s nothing too close to light sources that might cause ignition,” Tom explains.

Ultimately, it is small steps Tom takes to prevent a repeat of the devastation fire. He pinpoints the hazards, such as fertiliser or feed, in the yard and makes sure they are dealt with.

“I learned a valuable lesson that night,” Tom says, “and that is beyond the initial damage that is caused it is the aftermath of an event like the fire we had that has the biggest consequences. From sourcing replacements to items lost, dealing with insurance, restoring the farm to the functional level it was at beforehand – it all takes its toll.”