A Tuesday evening barn fire on Sawmill Road kept Laurentian Valley firefighters busy until the wee hours Wednesday morning.
Fire Chief Tim Sutcliffe said crews were called to the scene at 6:54 p.m. Feb. 6.
“It was fully involved, we could see it when we left the fire hall, we could see the flames in the sky,” said Sutcliffe.
He described the structure as a pole barn, approximately 40-by-100 feet, full of hay and some farm implements, and a little bit of lumber.
The roof was covered in tin, explained Sutcliffe, so as the wooden structure burned the tin fell on top of the hay, making it difficult to extinguish the fire.
“Once the major flame was done, we had to bring in an excavator to move the tin so we could get to the bales of hay to put them out and then of course they have to be spread out because you can’t put a bale of hay out unless it’s all spread out across an area,” said Sutcliffe.
He described the process as a “long procedure.”
Fourteen firefighters were on scene and a lot of water was used throughout the night.
Crews were back at the hall around 4 a.m. Feb. 7 and had to return later Wednesday morning to extinguish a couple of hotspots, said the chief.
No injuries to firefighters were reported.
“We stayed healthy and that’s the good thing, everybody came home,” said Sutcliffe.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)
