A huge barn fire which raged on the outskirts of Falmouth last week is being treated as suspicious.

The fire, which took 12 hours to put out, was reported at around 9pm on the evening of Friday 22 February. Fire crews from Falmouth quickly arrived on scene but were soon requiring back up. At the height of the incident, there were almost 50 firefighters on the scene.

Peter Pascoe, the owner of Tregonhay Farm, said: “I never thought this could happen. It is certainly likely that it was caused deliberately, according to the Fire Brigade. That’s what they’ve got on the police report, that it was arson. There have been a few [fires] around the area, my neighbour back in October had his shed burnt down.”

Students from Falmouth University saw the fire as they were driving from Penryn Campus back into Falmouth town. On arrival at the farm, the group realised that the owners were unaware of the blaze destroying one of their barns.

Eye-witness, Wesley Foster, said: “I saw the fire in the distance on the main road by Asda and decided to investigate. It was obvious that this was not a controlled fire. Lots of pops, bangs and it felt like the barn was going to explode at any moment. My partner rang the police while we got the attention of the farmers in the house nearby who were unaware of what was happening.”

The aftermath of the fire at Tregonhay Farm.

The incident is being treated as suspicious and an investigation is ongoing. Two other fires were reported around Cornwall on that same evening, necessitating the services of almost 100 firefighters over the course of the night.

A spokesperson from Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Police were called at around 9 pm on Friday 22 February to Tregonhay Farm, Falmouth following reports of a fire. Emergency services attended the scene. No one was injured. The fire is currently being treated as suspicious.”

Anyone with information relevant to the incident is asked to contact police on 101 quoting CR/016662/19.