Fire Department Stops Barn Fire Saturday

Archbold Fire Department firefighters douse hot spots in a barn on the Jacob Nafziger farm, located at 21360 Co. Rd. H. Firefighters were called to the farm about 6:53 am, Saturday, Feb. 2, to put out a blaze caused by a problem with a tractor's engine heater. The Fayette Fire Department was called for a water tanker truck. Brodbeck estimated damage to the building at $25,000. - photo by David Pugh

Archbold Firefighters saved a barn from destruction Saturday morning, Feb. 2.

The fire department was summoned to the farm of Jacob Nafziger, 21360 Co. Rd. H about 6:53 am.

Andy Brodbeck, Archbold Fire Department chief, said when firefighters arrived, they found a small tractor-loader combination on fire outside the building, and a single-story wood-frame building with gable ends burning.

"Someone had pulled the tractor outside," he said.

"The gable end on the west side was burning. I could look inside the building, and I knew there was smoke and heat high up inside. There was a metal roof on the building, so I knew it wasn't going to burn through right away."

Plan

Brodbeck's plan was to get two hose lines inside the building, and attack the fire in the rafters.

The east gable also began to burn. Firefighters attacked it, and opened doors on the east end to provide ventilation.

Early in the firefighting, Brodbeck called Fayette Fire Department for an additional tanker truck.

He said there were other buildings nearby that could have caught fire, so he wanted plenty of water nearby. The water was not needed.

In addition, a portable tank was set up on Co. Rd. H, with a waterline feeding fire engines parked in the barnyard, but it was not needed.

Cause

Brodbeck said the tractor parked in the barn had an electric engine heater that was plugged in to a 110-volt outlet.

He said either the heater, or the cord attached to it failed, causing oil and gasoline on the tractor engine to catch fire, which set the tractor and building ablaze.

A person living in a mobile home on the farm heard an explosion, spotted the fire, and called 911.

Brodbeck estimated the damage as $25,000 to the structure, and $5,000 to the tractor.