Barn blaze kills horses and sparks poisoning fears

SIX horses died in a blaze after a barn packed with 2,000 bales of hay went up in flames, sparking fears of asbestos poisoning in the surrounding area.

Police and fire fighters closed the roads in and out of the area surrounding the farm on Toad Lane, Brampton en le Morthen, as fire began to tear through the agricultural buildings at around 7pm on Friday (11).

Speaking at the time a police spokeswoman explained: “Officers are concerned that the barn contains asbestos and are therefore asking that people avoid the area.

“Specialist fire crews are on scene and would like to advise residents to stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut.”

Fire crews from Aston, Rotherham, Maltby and Mansfield Road fire stations worked around the clock to extinguish the blaze and remained at the farm for more than 24 hours after the blaze started.

A fire service spokeswoman said: “Crews from various stations were involved in the operation throughout the night.

“There was a constant rota in place to keep the fire extinguishing effort going. An awful lot of manpower was involved.”

Investigations of the barn after the flames were extinguished led to confirmation that six horses had been killed in the blaze.

Fire service officials and South Yorkshire Police are now working to determine the cause of the tragedy.

Anyone with information is asked to contact South Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 936 of October 11.