A tractor driver had a lucky escape after he was forced to jump from his cab when it burst into flames on a village street yesterday.
The incident happened at around 1.40pm on the old N18 Ennis to Limerick road in Clarecastle Co Clare.
The farmer was travelling out of a village when his tractor suddenly erupted into flames. The driver managed to pull the vehicle into the kerb before jumping to safety.
The emergency services were called and two units of the fire brigade and gardaí from Ennis rushed to the scene.
Gardaí quickly closed the road and stopped traffic driving through the village while fire crews dealt with the fire.
Fire personnel found the tractor ‘well alight’ when the arrived with flames reaching 20 feet into the air.
With cars backed up on both sides of the scene fire crews used foam to extinguish the fire and quickly brought it under control.
The tractor came to a stop next to a metal ESB pole which didn’t catch fire however scorching could be seen on the cables above. ESB engineers were called to inspect the pole and wires for damage.
Another tractor was later brought into remove the damaged vehicle from the scene. The driver was uninjured.
One passerby said: “I was out walking with my friend and we were just after crossing the bridge and walking down into the village when the tractor came around the corner. There was smoke and flames coming out of it and the driver pulled in to the footpath and jumped out. He was quick off the mark and was fair lucky I’d say.”
A local resident said: “I don’t know if he kept driving while it was on fire to avoid stopping in front of the houses and pubs. It could have been worse if it happened in the middle of the street. Fair play to him anyway.”
In April 2013, an elderly farmer had a lucky escape when his tractor suddenly burst into flames on a country road near Barefield also in Clare.
Two months earlier, another farmed escaped injury when his tractor caught fire off the old Ennis to Galway N18 road at Ballyline.
Meanwhile, emergency services dealt with several road traffic accidents in the county yesterday afternoon.
Collisions were reported in Darragh, Kilkee and on the main Ennis to Lahinch road.
In Darragh, emergency services were called to the scene of a collision involving two vehicles while in Kilkee a car crashed into a wall on the Doonbeg road outskirts of the town.
The sole occupant of the car asked passers-by for a phone however they didn’t have one so they called to the local Coast Guard station where volunteers rendered assistance.
There were no serious injuries reported in any of the incidents.