Thursday, April 19th, 2018
Fire ravages area barn
At least 100 firefighters respond
By Ed Gebert
Photo by Ryan Snyder/The Daily Standard
This overhead picture shows the scene this morning after a Wednesday night barn fire near the intersection of Clover Four Road and U.S. 127. The barn belongs to Earl and Ruth Heyne. The state fire marshal's office has been called in to determine the cause of the blaze.
MONTEZUMA - About 100 firefighters from at least 10 departments on Wednesday night battled a large barn fire near the intersection of Clover Four Road and U.S. 127.
Montezuma Fire Chief Ron Schulze this morning said the barn, which is owned by Earl and Ruth Heyne, had been used for storage and contained miscellaneous unknown items but did not contain livestock. He said half of the barn was destroyed but the other half could be saved. A loss estimate was not available at press time today.
Ruth Heyne confirmed this morning the structure also contained one residential apartment. No one was reported injured.
Firefighters responded to the call at 8:20 p.m. and battled the blaze for nearly six hours, bringing it under control at about 2 a.m., Schulze said. Crews used about 200,000-210,000 gallons of water.
Schulze told the newspaper this morning he wasn't sure how many departments had responded, but crews set up two fill sites for firefighters to refill tankers - at the cemetery at St. Charles Senior Living Community and at the Mercer County Elks golf course.
Firefighters remained at the scene this morning, awaiting a visit from the state fire marshal's office to help determine the cause of the fire, which is unknown at this time.
Photo by Ed Gebert/The Daily Standard
Firefighters using about 25 pieces of firefighting apparatus battle a large barn fire near the intersection of Clover Four Road and U.S. 127 on Wednesday evening. The blaze forced the closing of many roads in the area, making travel difficult. The cause of the blaze is still undetermined, pending an investigation today by the state fire marshal's office.
