Serious blaze at Ashburnham

A large wooden garage at Agmehurst Farm, in Kitchenham Road, caught alight just after 6pm.

Crews from Battle and Herstmonceux Fire Stations were first on the scene, with back up coming from Bexhill, The Ridge and Bohemia Fire Stations in Hastings, and a water bowser from Uckfield Fire Station.

The garage was attached to the farm house and firefighters battled to prevent the blaze spreading to the main building.

Several gas cylinders were stored in the garage, a number of which ‘vented’ as crews tried to cool the others down.

An amount of heating oil was also stored in the garage, adding fuel to the flames.

The plumes of smoke could be seen from miles away.

The garage was said to have been ‘totally destroyed’ in the fire.

But Watch Commander Leo Cacciatore, from Battle Fire Station, said the outcome could have been a lot worse.

He said: “The initial crews got on top of it very quickly and stopped it spreading to the house, which was a very good result for us.

“No one was injured and all the pets got out. Everybody was fine.

“They (the farm owners) were a bit distressed about the situation because it was a severe fire and it did look pretty bad.”

Firefighters remained on the scene until 10pm.

It is not known what caused the fire, but it is believed to have started accidentally.