FIRE crews from Tavistock and a giant water bowser from Plymouth played a key role in extinguishing a large fire near Launceston last Thursday.
The Bere Alston crew also attended, taking along Tavistock?s new hose-layer, used for the first time at the fire, which was at the A and M Wooden Pallets company premises at Northcott, approximately six miles north of Launceston.
Ten appliances and 60 firefighters attended the fire, which started at 3.30pm and was out by 6pm, although crews were in attendance until 11.30pm. In addition to pallets, the roof of a bungalow was also damaged.
On Friday, Tavistock firefighters were called to a refuse fire at Haye Down Industrial Estate at Chillaton. The callout was received at 11pm and crews remained on the scene until 5.30am.
On Sunday Princetown and Crownhill crews were at the disused airfield at Yelverton, where a report had been received that a chemical drum was leaking. This turned out to be a drum of paint and no action by the fire crews was required. Police are investigating.
Sgt Hughes of Tavistock Police Station said someone ?very selfish and very stupid? had filled a disused chemical drum with white emulsion and inserted and lit a firework in it with the intention of spreading paint over a wide area.
The drum was placed in an area of common greenland used by people and animals. Fortunately, Sgt Hughes said, the firework only spread paint over a small area.
The drum and empty paint tins, which had also been left, were removed to safety by the Dartmoor Rangers. Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact Tavistock police quoting incident number 602 of August 8.
Tavistock fire station officer Tim Smith said firefighters had been called to a bonfire at Boughthayes which was causing annoyance to residents. He reminded people that only garden waste should be burned on bonfires, and nothing else.
If a bonfire was causing annoyance, firefighters could attend to put it out if contacted.