Fire a barn-burner in Madison Twp.
By DAVID CLUCAS
Banner-Graphic Staff Writer
A fire
destroyed a Madison Township barn early Thursday morning.
Fire crews
from Madison Township, Greencastle and Reel-sville responded to the blaze at
around 4:30 a.m. By the time they arrived, the fire had engulfed the entire
metal barn and continued to be fueled by about 150 bales of hay. A John Deere
tractor in the barn also sustained damage.
The barn is owned by Charlie
Butler, 6309 W. CR 100 South. He estimated that the structure was 10 years old.
As of Thursday morning, fire crews had not determined the cause of the fire.
As the fire crept closer toward Butler's grain bin, firemen got
assistance from a Pingleton Saw Mill forklift. The borrowed machinery slugged
through the mud and allowed crews to move smoldering bales of hay away from the
grain bins.
Although his barn lay in ruins, Butler was impressed with
the firefightersą response. "They just come in here like troopers," he said.
"It's great to have neighbors like Pingleton's... they saved the grain bin," he
added.
Madison Township Assistant Fire Chief Lee Price said that as he
drove toward the fire, he could see the glow of the blaze from a few miles away.
Price also said that the steady morning rain did not necessarily help
the situation. "Sometimes the rain just makes it more slippery like on a
hillside like this," Price said pointing towards the ravine behind the barn.
For 18-year-old firefighter Jerett Query, the blaze was his first
full-fledged structure fire since starting service in March.
As he
lifted a cumbersome fire hose to spray water on the flames, Query gritted his
teeth, bearng the youthful sign of blue-colored braces.
"It's fun, I
love it," the youngest member of the crew said of fire-fighting afterward. "It's
like having a bunch of big brothers around."