Fire destroys farm buildings at Amberley

Press, 20 September 1982, Page 2

Fire destroys farm buildings at Amberley

Answering, the telephone proved expensive for Mr R. Messervy, of Racecourse Road. Amberley, yesterday. After the call he returned to the small rubbish fire he had been tending to find it had spread to his farm buildings. A hayshed containing 800 bales of hay. a goat-milking dairy, stables, harness shed, and a big storage shed were destroyed before the Fire Service brought the fire under control.

"They managed to save the house, which is the main thing." Mr Messervv said. Four engines from Amberley and Waipara attended the fire, which started about 12.30 p.m. Water supply was a problem. The Fire Service had to call in two Hurunui County Council water tankers and a privately owned tanker. Thev carted water from a

neighbour's swimming pool to the fire. A contractor’s front-end loader was used to push burning hay bales away from other buildings. Mr Messervy said his insurance would cover only a fraction of the buildings and equipment destroyed. His herd of dairy goats, the property’s main incomeearner. was unharmed, but without a milking shed and feed his enterprise was wiped out.

"Feed will be the worst problem. We have to feed hay intensively to maintain production, and we have lost the lot." he said.

Fortunately, his family did not rely entirely on the goats. Mr Messervy is a carpenter, and he was building up the farm as well. "It has wiped us out. but we will build it back up again." he said.