While fires continued to rage in England’s countryside last week, brave farmers stepped in to save the day before homes were consumed by the flames.
In one case, an unidentified tractor driver thought quickly on his feet after locals tried to extinguish the blaze with their shirts.
The fire started Friday afternoon in a south London field, located in West Wickham, Bromley, the U.K. Daily Mail reported.
A Sky News helicopter crew recorded the farmer’s heroic actions.
A fire in a field in West Wickham, south London, was tackled at first by just a couple of people using their shirts, before a fire engine then a tractor arrived to help.
Read the full story: https://t.co/t4VZyEGlAA pic.twitter.com/rFdFvKUYTr
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 29, 2022
Driving over the edge of the burnt area with what looked like a soil aerator, the driver stopped the fire in its tracks before it could spread any farther.
The farmer’s quick thinking most likely saved the landowner “thousands of pounds,” according to the Daily Mail.
The courageous farmer is still unidentified after the fire was successfully put out.
A similar fire broke out in Kent, England, on July 23, one of the country’s hottest days.
A farmer identified as Bill Alexander tackled the fire with his tractor, this time by cutting the crops that prevented the blaze from consuming any more land.
The Kent Fire and Rescue Service extinguished the wildfire after it consumed almost 20 hectares, or about 49 acres, of land.
Andy Barr, who owned the farmland on which Alexander stopped the fire, owed a debt of gratitude to the hero.
Bill Alexander @WHAlexander1 performing heroics in my field this afternoon – you made the national news Bill! #goodneighbour pic.twitter.com/AhUHSm5GY1
— Andy Barr (@EwenMcEwen) July 23, 2022
Barr also thanked the firefighters for their service.
Also many, many thanks to @kentfirerescue who were brilliant and are facing far too many of these at the moment pic.twitter.com/JTRlXz71Mw
— Andy Barr (@EwenMcEwen) July 23, 2022
No injuries were reported as a result of the Kent fire.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
