IT has been a busy Christmas and New Year period for Okehampton?s fire crew with 13 call-outs in Okehampton alone. On Christmas Day evening, a fire appliance from Okehampton attended a road traffic accident near Sampford Courtenay Railway Station. Three people were trapped in a vehicle and had to be cut free and transported to hospital. The accident occurred at around 7pm. At around 11pm on New Year?s Eve, the crew attended a house fire in Hatherleigh, along with firefighters from Hatherleigh. Okehampton station officer Ian Donovan said: ?The bathroom on the first floor was severely damaged by fire and the first and second floor were heavily smoke-logged. Breathing apparatus was used to quickly tackle the fire.? Mr Donovan said the fire was brought to the occupier?s attention by a smoke detector fitted in the property, and he said the incident could have been more serious had it not been for the alarm. Mr Donovan said this highlighted the importance of having a smoke detector which is regularly checked. An ammonia leak at the Heinz factory in North Street, Okehampton, was contained by firefighters on Monday. Crews from Okehampton, Hatherleigh and North Tawton attended the factory at 7.30am after a quantity of ammonia vapour had leaked into a confined area. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus closed down the plant and with the assistance of on-site engineers ventilated the premises until it was safe. Okehampton station officer Ian Donovan said it was fortunate only a skeleton staff carrying out maintenance were in the building at the time which meant everyone could be quickly evacuated from the factory.
