Response system helps Fillmore attack barn fire

A Sunday afternoon fire in Marion Township that completely destroyed a storage barn on County Road 50 South was determined to be accidental.

Fillmore Fire Chief Mike Davies told the BannerGraphic Monday that county firefighters were dispatched to the home of Gordon Arnold, 5860 E. CR 50 South, at 2:28 p.m. Davies said the 40-feet by 30-feet wooden storage barn was totally involved when firefighters arrived.

As firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze, the fire spread to an adjacent bean stubble field. Davies said only an acre of the field was lost to the fire, but the barn and its contents were a complete loss.

The Arnolds' stored a 1967 Chevy green truck, an auger wagon filled with 400 bushels of beans and a miscellaneous assortment of tools inside the barn. Davies said the farm equipment stored outside the building also suffered damage to the tires.

Davies said they determined the cause of this fire to be accidental.

Fillmore was assisted at the scene by Floyd Township Fire, Greencastle Fire, Bainbridge Fire and Mill Creek Fire departments, Operation Life, Red Cross and REMC.

Davies said Putnam County Dispatch did a fantastic job dispatching county firefighters to the scene.

"This was the first time we had to use the MABAS system," Davies said of his department. "It's a great benefit to the county."

Davies also told the BannerGraphic that people should watch their outside burn piles. With grass and weeds being extremely flammable this time of year, outside burn piles can quickly spread to other outside vegetation and structures.

During the weekend, area firefighters responded to at least five grass and field fires, including the barn fire.