Fire in the field: Straw press in Northwest Mecklenburg completely destroyed!

Fire in the field: Straw press in Northwest Mecklenburg completely destroyed!

On Saturday, July 18, 2025, there was a dramatic fire in a field near Falkenhagen in the Northwest Mecklenburg district, which made a straw press open in flames. Like Nordkurier , the straw press came on fire for the cause of the previous unknown cause. The good news: The tractor driver was able to separate from the press in good time and remained unharmed.

The fire brigade, consisting of the Rehna volunteer fire brigade and the Schönberg fire brigade, was quickly deployed. With around 20 firefighters and the police on site, the fire that the agricultural device completely destroyed could be quickly contained. Fortunately, there were no injuries to report because the field had already been harvested and a surface fire was excluded.

High damage and additional fire events

A similar incident occurred in Twistringen, Diepholz district. There a tractor burned down together with a cuboid bale press, whereby the damage is estimated at around 420,000 euros, such as ndr . The fire broke out during the harvest when the farmer steered the burning team onto an already harvested field to prevent the fire from spreading. The tires of the tractor burst, which ignited burning rubber and suffered an adjacent stubble field. Here, too, around 65 firefighters were deployed who were able to contain the fire thanks to quick intervention.

In Germany there are unfortunately no comprehensive statistics on agricultural fires. The "Stall fire" initiative complains about the lack of reporting in several federal states, including Lower Saxony. This gap means that there are no reliable figures on fire events, their causes or the associated damage. As Agrarheute , are the most common causes of fire in agricultural operations, arson and human misconduct. An investigation by Jürgen Kunkelmann, for example, only covers cases by 2012, which means that more recent developments are not taken into account.

The incidents in Falkenhagen and Twistringen impressively show how quickly unforeseen events can arise in agriculture. It remains to be hoped that more prevention and information can reduce such fires in the future.