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Thousands of french partridges saved from barn fire in Essex

Crews arriving at the incident reported that 50 percent of the barn measuring 100m x 50m, was alight. Credit: Essex Fire and Rescue

Thousands of french partridges were saved by firefighters in Essex after a nearby barn went up in flames.

The barn on Kentish Farm in Sible Hedingham, a small village near Halstead, contained wooden flooring materials and propane gas cylinders.

Essex Fire Service were called to the barn at around 2:30am.

It took seven appliances around seven hours to put out the barn fire and prevent it from spreading to the barn the birds' were in.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage, ECFRS and the police will carry out an investigation.

Sub Officer Darren Hockley from Wethersfield Fire Station said:

"The good news is that no French partridges were hurt as a result of this fire. There were three sheds on the farm and thankfully the one housing the birds was not affected.

"The storage shed on fire contained wooden flooring and two large propane cylinders. Close by, there were thousands of partridges in a second shed and crews worked extremely hard to prevent the fire from spreading there.

"If the fire had reached the poultry shed, I have no doubt the birds would have all died. Crews did an excellent job containing the fire to save the birds. The third shed contained furniture and was unaffected."

The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage, ECFRS and the police will carry out an investigation.