A farming leader in North Otago yesterday called for more farmers to ensure that both fire extinguishers and smoke alarms were installed at farmhouses to prevent potentially "catastrophic fires".
The call follows a fire at a farmhouse at Richmond, 12km north of Oamaru.
The Fire Service said the fire started with a pot left unattended on a stove.
North Otago Federated Farmers president Richard Strowger said farmers needed to be extra careful when it came to fire safety.
Although no-one was hurt in the blaze, two fire engines from the Oamaru Voluntary Fire Brigade and a water tanker from Weston were needed to tackle the fire, and Mr Strowger said the incident should serve as a lesson to all farmers.
"Fire is always an issue for farmers because we are so isolated. Fire extinguishers and smoke detectors need to be carried in farmhouses probably more than they are, because of that isolation.
"We are isolated so the chances of it being more catastrophic on us are higher. It is devastating, too, because it is where they work and live."
Oamaru Voluntary Fire Brigade station officer Carl Banks said the fire, which occurred on Steward Rd at midday, took three hours to extinguish.
About a third of the inside of the house was destroyed.
