There were fears homes could go up in flames after a fire swept across fields last night.
Following a day of scorching temperatures, a large fire broke out across three fields near the M25 between Abbots Langley and Bedmond.
David Evans was travelling along Bedmond Road at around 7.45pm with his father, who used to be firefighter, when he noticed a field to their left was “well alight”.
David said: “There was only one fire engine there at the time and we felt we needed to raise the alarm.
“We were worried about nearby houses and the traveller site catching fire so I went over to the site and told people to stay away from the back fence.
“We also asked the firefighters what we could to do help and they asked if we could find a fire hydrant which we did.”
Read more: Field fire breaks out near M25 after day of record temperatures
Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue said it was called to the blaze at 7.41pm and in total eight fire engines attended. It happened around an hour or so after a “major incident” had been declared in the county because of the number of 999 calls coming in.
David said: “There were crews from Stevenage, Welwyn, St Albans in attendance. A huge credit to them all for coming over because the fire was spreading quickly.
“I overheard one of the firefighters saying they were struggling and needed more people. They were jumping from one incident to the next.”
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David also praised local farmers who came down to help and gave a shout-out to the shopkeeper at Bedmond Premier Store.
The 26-year-old from Garston said: “I drove down to the shop to get some bottles of water. I told the shopkeeper there was a fire up the road. He decided to grab around eight cases of bottles and put them in my car and said I didn’t have to pay. When I got back, the firefighters were so grateful, they drank the water straight away.”
The fire, which spanned three fields and sent thick smoke into the sky, was brought under control at around 9.15pm with crews leaving at around 10pm.
The fire is believed to have been accidental and sparked by the record-breaking temperatures that pushed near 40 degrees celsius in the area.
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