Blazing barn

Two weeks ago, I responded to a barn fire on a hot, muggy day. As is often the case, scanner traffic made it clear that this was a real call. Thankfully nobody was in the barn or nearby when the fire broke out, so there were no injuries. The barn was used for storage, so no animals were threatened, either.

Unfortunately, this was a barn that dated back to the mid-1800s, if not older. The nearby farmhouse dates to the 1750s. When barns burn, there's really nothing that can be done to save them.

Firefighters ran about 1,000 feet of 4-inch diameter hose and used three engines to relay water from the river nearby. That provided a supply of 800-900 gallons of water per minute, which was supplemented by a one-time blitz of 7,000 gallons from tankers.

Making photos of this fire was tough, not just because of the weather, but because access was limited due to a live downed power line on one corner of the barn and a propane tank not far from the opposite corner. Once the main excitement died down, I continued to an interview that I was now late to.

Posted by JRC at July 26, 2006 12:38 PM | TrackBack