One woman was treated by paramedics and buildings burned after a large fire in South Bucks yesterday nearby as temperatures soared to 40C.
The fire on Whitehouse Lane, Wooburn Moor near High Wycombe and Beaconsfield, sent clouds of thick black smoke into the air visible from several miles away.
Emergency services first announced the fire in a large commercial unit around 1pm on the lane located on a hilltop, and eight appliances and crew were “working hard to contain and extinguish the fire".
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “One female casualty suffering from smoke inhalation in the care of South Central Ambulance Service.”
Later, the number of appliances grew to 11 as crews from Buckinghamshire, Royal Berkshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire battled the blaze - that affected both residential and industrial properties, hedgerow, a field, and an electricity pylon.
'A major incident' was declared across Bucks after the fire service faced high demand, meaning they were not attending to automatic fire alarms. The incident level has now been stood down.
We are no longer declaring a Major Incident. We've also resumed response to automatic fire alarms. CFO Jason Thelwell ‘A big thank you to all those who worked over and above what was expected of them yesterday. We showed the strength of our service is in our people.’ pic.twitter.com/W4dd6iNY6v
— Bucks and MK Fire (@Bucksfire) July 20, 2022
READ MORE: Fire at High Wycombe Wooburn Moor industrial site
The fire service said: “One barn 100% destroyed by fire.
“Fire has spread to another four unit commercial building. Firefighters are using breathing apparatus, spreaders, lite portable pumps, three main jets, three hose reals and one hydrant.”
The power remained off for houses nearby at 6pm the next day, while the provider SSE estimated supply to be back by midnight.
Five hours into tackling the fire, a police officer near the scene of the fire said the road was blocked as the authorities inspected the area with a drone. Only residents were let through the cordon.
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This included a woman, whose grandmother lives opposite the scene of the fire, and she was driving in to see her. The grandaughter reported that the fire had set alight to a hedge, her grandmother’s barn and the substation.
David Brown, a Whitehouse Lane resident, said: “Electricity has been off all day, it came back for a bit and then it’s been off again. The police said it might come back by midnight.”
At 8.30pm, seven fire appliances remained on the scene and crews were on hand to dampen down the affected area.
South Central Ambulance Service was contacted for a comment. Thames Valley Police declined to comment.
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