Crews contend with barn fire Monday evening

Firefighters tackle the inside of a barn fire in Jefferson Township Monday evening. The structure was deemed a total loss.

Banner Graphic/BRAND SELVIA

BELLE UNION — Several crews and apparatuses were called out to a pole barn fire that occurred in Jefferson Township Monday evening.

A box alarm was initially requested by the Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Department at about 8:07 p.m. for a structure fire at 6 Noland Rd. With Jefferson Township Fire and the Greencastle Fire Department arriving in rescue trucks, the Cloverdale Township and Reelsville volunteer departments responded with engines and a tanker.

With the barn being fully involved and in a rural area, a second box alarm was activated for additional tankers and manpower. They were called in as such to the Fillmore, Floyd Township and Madison Township volunteers as well as the Putnamville Correctional Facility.

Putnam County EMS and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office were on standby. Meanwhile, the Cataract Volunteer Fire Department in Owen County was requested to cover Cloverdale Township Fire’s station.

Firefighters used two handlines from different sides as a defensive effort, with water being fed from Cloverdale Township Fire’s engine and tanker. The main concern was no one being inside, as parts of the barn were compromised or falling down. Siding as such was torn down to provide suitable access.

Aside from a hog that escaped from a pen and roamed the scene at one point, baby goats, horses and cows were removed from the barn. No fatalities or injuries otherwise to the animals or personnel were reported.

“It’s just another day,” Jefferson Township Fire Asst. Chief Charles Tincher said candidly about the mixture of mud and “a little bit of something else” that was around the barn.

The barn was considered a total loss, as Tincher noted that its entire back half collapsed in the fire.

Firefighters checked for hot spots as units began going back into service at about 9:30 p.m. Command of the scene was terminated at about 10:20 p.m.

Putnam County CERT provided coffee and hot chocolate as the operation wrapped up.

According to Putnam County GIS, the property on which the barn stood is listed to Samuel and Shannon Friend.