'Proper Guernsey spirit' shown during barn blaze
BBCThe owner of a barn which was damaged during a fire says the people who came to help make sure people and animals were safe showed "proper Guernsey spirit".
Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service crews were called to a blaze at Courtil De Bas Lane in St Sampson at about 14:00 BST on Tuesday and brought it under control by about 14:45.
Barn owner Ben Le Page said the cause of the fire was still under investigation but he had lost several thousand pounds worth of hay and fencing equipment.
Le Page said it was lucky none of his animals were harmed in the fire and praised members of the public who came to help, saying it was "proper Guernsey spirit. I mean, that's true Guernsey people".
'People were amazing'
Le Page told BBC Radio Guernsey he was on the property shortly before the fire started and that the incident unfolded "really quickly".
He said: "I went and let the girlfriend's horse up into another paddock and checked the area, as we do every morning, and then she phoned me back an hour later and said you better get to the yard, the yard's on fire.
"It wasn't the phone call that I wanted to hear from her, that's for sure.
"We've lost a few grand's worth of hay and fencing equipment and fence posts and other things and bits and bobs.
"The people and the spirit of people were amazing, really really good."
'Panic and screaming'
Todd Roberts was making deliveries in the area when he saw smoke in the air.
He said: "We noticed a lot of people in panic and people screaming and shouting, and one lady was specifically saying to me there's dogs in the house.
"So I just looked at my partner that I was working with at the time and said we've got to do something about it.
"He bounced over the fence on one side I ran around the back, we managed to get both of the dogs out."
Roberts said he was glad he turned up when he did and said helping people was "what Guernsey community is about".
He said: "I was brought up here in the 80s and the 90s, and that's what it was like back then... To see it yesterday and everybody come out and do their bit, not knowing each other, it was great.
"That's the spirit we want in Guernsey."
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