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A three-bay shed containing 200 bales of straw, two tractors and a baler was destroyed in a fire in Co Offaly on Wednesday. The farmer, Pádraig Higgins, was woken up by his neighbours at around 3.30am on Wednesday morning, after they were awoken by their dog’s persistent barking.
After Higgins put in a phone call, three units of the fire brigade arrived and it took them almost 12 hours to put out the fire. The only thing left standing, as you can see from the picture below, is the roof.
Higgins said that when the shed was built more than 50 years ago, the technique was to bolt each sheet of corrugated iron together as opposed to screwing them together, as is more common nowadays.
“I think that is why the roof is still there after yesterday,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.
The shed was really comprised of two sheds – a round-roof shed containing a silage pit and the 200 bales, and a lean-to which contained the two tractors and a baler.
We were very lucky the cattle weren’t in the shed when the fire started
“The John Deere was worth €40,000 and the Fiat 190 was worth €10,000,” Higgins said. “I don’t think the tractors had anything to do with setting off the fire because they weren’t used the day before, but the guards are keeping an open mind. I just hope it wasn’t malicious,” he added.
The bales are destroyed and Higgins said it is very unlikely anything can be salvaged from the silage pit, made up of three acres of peas and barley.
“The plastic was burnt and a lot of water got in from the fire hoses, so I’d say we won’t be able to salvage too much of it. But fingers crossed.”
Luckily for Higgins, who is a suckler farmer, the cattle were still out grazing a fresh crop of kale.
“They were due to be housed in that shed next week, so we’re very lucky that they weren’t in there when the fire started.”
Loss is relative
Although he is insured for the tractors, Higgins was not insured for the shed and he estimates the overall loss will be in the region of €30,000.
“That’s a big blow,” he told us, “but the main thing is that no one was hurt. What I’ve lost is replaceable. I have my son, his wife and two children up in the house and they’re the things that cannot be replaced.”
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