Many homes in the Harrogate district are still without a TV signal following yesterday’s Bilsdale transmitter fire.
Freeview TV and FM radio signals in about one million homes in North Yorkshire, Teesside and County Durham were affected and almost 24 hours on it is still not known when the situation will be resolved.
Eight fire crews tackled the blaze at the 315-metre mast near Helmsley yesterday afternoon.
Stray Ferret readers quickly got in touch to report the issue had affected television coverage in the Bilton area of Harrogate as well as in the north of the Harrogate district.
Communications company Arqiva, which operates the transmitter, tweeted today it was still assessing the extent of the damage:
“The fire at our Bilsdale mast site is under control and we can confirm that there were no injuries or casualties. TV and radio services remain off air from the site.
“Our teams are currently mobilising temporary equipment to site however we are unable to provide specific timelines for restoration of any services at this point.”
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has said it will return to the site today to bring the incident to a “safe conclusion”.
A 300m exclusion zone was put in place around the mast and concerns about its structural integrity were reported.
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Quick-thinking Little Ouseburn farmer averts field fire
A quick-thinking farmer averted a potentially major field fire yesterday when a straw baler went up in flames on land near Little Ouseburn.
Firefighters from Knaresborough and Acomb were summoned when the baler caught fire at about 2pm yesterday.
When the fire crews arrived, the farmer had already managed to unhook the tractor from the baler and another farmer had ploughed a fire break around the flames to prevent the fire spreading.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log said the quick intervention prevented the fire spreading throughout the field. The farmers involved are not named.
The incident log said the cause of the fire was believed to be a mechanical fault. It added:
“The crews extinguished the fire using two hose reel jets and three breathing apparatus.”
In a separate incident yesterday, an unattended barbecue is believed to have been responsible for a fire in Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground, which spread to a tree, causing minor damage before it was extinguished.
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Combine harvester catches fire in Harrogate
A build up of dust is believed to have been responsible for a combine harvester fire in Harrogate last night.
Firefighters from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge were summoned to Kingsley Road to deal with the blaze at 7.30pm last night.
Wearing breathing apparatus and using thermal imaging cameras, they used doused the flames using mechanical foam.
Fortunately, the combine was slightly away from the standing crop.
In a separate incident at 2.20am this morning, firefighters from Ripon responded to reports of wheelie bins on fire outside a house on Priest Lane.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident summary said:
“The crews found the bins had been extinguished by a resident prior to their arrival and used the residents garden hose to dampen to the area.
“The cause is believed to have been accidental.”
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Harrogate person burns arm after barbecue fire spreads to fence
A Harrogate person went to hospital with a burnt arm yesterday when a barbecue got out of control.
Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough were called to Stone Rings Lane, Rossett Green, at about 5.30pm, as temperatures soared close to 30 degrees centigrade.
According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, flames spread from the barbecue on to nearby hedging and fencing.
Its incident log adds:
“Crews extinguished the fire, with the occupant attending hospital with an arm burn as a precaution.”
Two hours later last night, Knaresborough and Harrogate firefighters responded to calls saying there was a small fire by the side of the A1 northbound near Knaresborough.
However, the incident log says that when they arrived they did not find a fire.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 27 degrees this afternoon and remain high all week.
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- Firefighters battle blaze at farm in Beckwithshaw
- Dramatic pictures show firefighters tackling Follifoot blaze
Firefighters battle blaze at farm in Beckwithshaw
Firefighters have been battling a blaze at a farm in Beckwithshaw this evening.
A firefighter at the scene told the Stray Ferret a pile of hay caught fire next to a barn at Whin Hill Farm, opposite the West Harrogate Household Waste Recycling Centre on Pennypot Lane.
Smoke from the fire was visible across Harrogate and people on social media said they could smell burning as far away as Jennyfields.
The incident was brought under control quickly and no people or farm animals are believed to have been hurt.
The firefighter praised the farmer for getting his machinery out of the way quickly before the fire service arrived.
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Dramatic pictures show firefighters tackling Follifoot blaze
These dramatic pictures show six crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue battling a blaze near Follifoot yesterday.
Firefighters were called to the former property of a well-known fundraiser for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Ken Horner, on Haggs Road at 2.15pm.
When the crews arrived they found a skip and a large outbuilding on fire.
Firefighters from stations in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Ripon, Tadcaster and Acomb attended.
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Russell Jenkinson, crew manager at Knaresborough Fire Station, told the Stray Ferret:
“We are still carrying out investigations but we believe it started with some controlled burning in some old oil drums.
“It was confined and safe but obviously something happened to cause the fire to spread, that it was we are still trying to determine.”
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said yesterday:
“Crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough Ripon, Acomb, Wetherby, Moortown and the water bowser from Tadcaster responded to a report of an outbuilding on fire, which had spread to a rubbish pile and a garden shed.
“Fire involving an out building and a large pile of rubbish is now extinguished. Will be revisited this evening by Harrogate crews.”
Firefighters battled a blaze at a group of outbuildings near Follifoot this afternoon.
Six crews were called out for the fire on Haggs Road at 2.15pm and had managed to put it out by around 6pm today.
The firefighters were from stations in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Ripon, Tadcaster and Acomb.
Fire investigators are still on scene trying to put the picture together of how the blaze took hold.
The crews found that a skip filled with cylinders had caught fire, which then spread to nearby buildings.
The Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue for more information, but we have received no reply by the time of writing.
It’s currently unclear what caused the fire or if anybody was injured.
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Smouldering barbecue sets garage alight in Pannal
Fire crews were called to Pannal yesterday when smouldering ashes from a barbecue set a garage alight.
Firefighters from Harrogate, Wetherby and Knaresborough used breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire and ensure the fire had not spread to the attached bungalow.
The incident happened at Crimple Meadows shortly after 2pm.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log said:
“The cause of the fire is believed to be hot barbecue ashes stored in the garage overnight.”
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Self-combusting linseed oil causes freak house fire in Bilton
Self-combusting linseed oil is believed to have caused a fire that spread to a Harrogate house and shed last night.
The fire shattered a kitchen window and melted a PVC frame during the freak incident at a home in Cecil Street, Bilton about 9.30pm.
The North Yorkshire Fire and Service incident log said:
“Two crews from Harrogate and an officer attended a fire to a shed that spread to a garden fence and caused damage to the rear of a property.
“The fire shattered a kitchen window and melted some of a PVC frame.
“The cause is believed to be some linseed oil that self combusted and melted a turps containers and then run down to the shed setting that alight.”
Linseed oil, which is extracted from flax seed, is a natural oil used as a preservative for wood as well as being an ingredient in paints and varnishes.
Firefighters used two hose reel jets and a thermal imaging camera to tackle the blaze.
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Tanker catches fire on A1 (M) near Boroughbridge
Four crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the A1 (M) near Boroughbridge this morning after a tanker caught fire.
Crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge and Tadcaster rushed to the incident at 01.32am this morning.
The brakes and tyres of the tanker, which was carrying sugar, had set on fire. The crews were able to detach the trailer from the cab, which luckily didn’t set alight.
A section of the A1 (M) near junction 47 and 48 was closed for 90 minutes.
In its incident summary, the fire service said:
“Crews used two breathing apparatus sets and two hose reel jets.”
Highways England said it was called at the same time to patrol the traffic.
All lanes were reopened by 2.57am. The last of the fire crews left the scene at 2.45am.
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