Quick-thinking farmers cut firebreaks and spread digestate to stop a combine fire from spreading further to crops and farm buildings.

Farmer Jonathan Edwards was driving the corn cart behind combine driver Dave Clark harvesting wheat at Lonesome Farm, in Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, when he spotted a puff of smoke coming from the engine bay.

He quickly radioed his colleague who stopped the Massey Ferguson 9380 Delta combine and jumped out of the cab to safety. Within minutes, the whole combine was ablaze.

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Both men used fire extinguishers to try to quell the smoke and flames. Mr Edwards phoned the fire service and his farming neighbours to get help.

Farmer David Passmore was on the scene in minutes and he used his tanker to spread digestate in the wheat around the combine to contain the fire.

Mr Passmore said: “I had a digestate tanker on full at the time and drove it through standing wheat, putting the whole lot [digestate] in a 3m band, not expecting to stop the flames.

“Actually, it was the best way of stopping the fire spreading in a standing crop.”

© Jonathan Edwards

The Chamberlain family from Crowmarsh Battle Farms, were on hand to use their cultivator to create firebreaks and a water bowser to dampen the area around the combine.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service sent three fire crews from Wallingford, Didcot and Henley to the fire scene, plus one crew from Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Firefighters used high pressure hose reels to tackle the blaze.

“It was a great team effort and we’re so grateful to the fire services and our neighbours for their timely interventions,” Mr Edwards told Farmers Weekly. “Without their help, the outcome could have been much worse.”

First day of wheat harvest

Mr Clark had only cut the headlands of his LG Skyscraper wheat and was just getting started in the field when the combine fire broke out shortly before 2.30pm on Monday 29 July – the first day of the wheat harvest.

No one was injured but the combine was destroyed. The cause of the fire is unknown, but a hydraulic oil failure is suspected. Mr Edwards is covered for his losses with NFU Mutual.

The Skyscraper was yielding 8.4t/ha at 13.8% moisture content.

Mr Edwards has thanked Nick Gibson from Chandlers Farm Equipment, in Wallingford, for loaning him a Massey IDEAL 9T combine with a 40ft header until the end of the season.