Firefighters battled to put out more than 30 tonnes of straw and rescued several farm animals following a fire just outside Letchworth on Monday, despite the risk of asbestos.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called at around 5pm to reports of a blaze at a farm in Stotfold Road, between Letchworth and Stotfold.
BFRS worked alongside crews from Herts Fire and Rescue Service to prevent the fire from spreading further - something which was further complicated due to asbestos present in the roof of the barn.
Incident Commander Robert Hulatt said: "Incidents involving asbestos are extremely hazardous to everyone involved so it was important we identified it quickly then put a plan in place to tackle the incident as safely as possible.
"Together with our colleagues at Hertfordshire, we were able to keep the fire contained to the original building prior to extinguishing it, protecting surrounding properties as well as rescuing livestock."
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