FIREFIGHTERS from Newton Abbot tackled a fire in a minibus carrying equipment for a Scout group. 

The crew joined colleagues from Torquay responding to reports of a vehicle fire on the A380 on Saturday afternoon. 

The vehicle had caught fire on the northbound carriageway near Ideford Dip where fire crews discovered it was fully alight. 

Four firefighters wore sets of breathing gear and the teams uses compressed air foam, a hose reel jet and environmental pads to extinguish the fire. 

The minibus was totally destroyed.

A spokesman for Newton Abbot fire station said they had initially been called to reports suggesting the vehicle involved was a minibus transporting a Scout group home following a residential trip away. 

The spokesman said: ‘Thankfully, however, upon arrival, the Incident Commander quickly established it was a large van carrying the scout group’s equipment and belongings that was well alight with smoke and flames issuing, and not their minibus.

Firefighters also used two drag forks to empty the burned contents from the van. 

Other crew members on scene also used a number of oil absorbant pads to divert the fuel run off into a safe area within the central reservation. 

More oil pads were used to extract the oil and keep any pollution risk to a minimum.

As always, Torqauy and Newton Abbot worked closely together to bring the incident to a rapid close, with no injuries. 

The van and all contents were completely destroyed by the fire.