MORE than forty firefighters from across two counties saved a farm from disaster last night when a blaze swept through a storage warehouse.The swift action of the crews managed to prevent a large quantity of hydraulic oil, which is highly flammable, kept in the warehouse from igniting.

MORE than forty firefighters from across two counties saved a farm from disaster last night when a blaze swept through a storage warehouse.

The swift action of the crews managed to prevent a large quantity of hydraulic oil, which is highly flammable, kept in the warehouse from igniting. The crews also managed to save the building, on Symonds Farm, Risby, near Bury St Edmunds from complete destruction.

A large amount of wooden and plastic furniture, which was stored in the concrete and corrugated iron warehouse, was destroyed as a result of the blaze.

However, thousands of pounds of damage was caused and an investigation is now under way into its cause.

A total of eight fire crews from Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Sudbury, Haverhill, Brandon and Ickworth were called to the fire at around 5.15pm.

On the arrival of the first crew firefighters found a serious blaze burning inside the furniture warehouse.

Initially it was believed the building contained just the furniture, but firefighters than discovered containers full of hydraulic oil.

It was feared the containers may ignite or even explode, which could have had a devastating affect on the other buildings on the farm.

The firefighters brought in ground monitors and a cooling device, which enabled them to spray water over the hydraulic oil containers to prevent them from igniting.

Although the fire did cause substantial damage to the interior of the warehouse and the furniture within, the fire crews managed to save the building from complete destruction.

Assistant Divisional Officer Pat Dacey, who was in charge of last night's operation, said: "When we first arrived the fire was well established inside the warehouse and had burned a large quantity of plastic and wooden furniture.

"We were concerned in the early stages because of the hydraulic oil which was close to where the fire was burning. If those had ignited the fire could have been much, much worse. We managed to keep them cool while we continued the fight the rest of the fire.

"The crews managed to overcome difficult circumstances to bring the fire under control very quickly and prevent building being completely destroyed. There is substantial damage to the interior of the building and the furniture."

Nobody from the farm was available for comment last night.

The cause of the blaze has not been established, but fire investigators where examining the scene last night.