Firefighters save barn, cattle
Quick responses from two local farmers and Mapleton Fire and Rescue prevented what could have been large losses in the farming community near Drayton.
Drayton and Moorefield firefighters responded to a page at 8:23 am on Feb. 3 for a structure fire on the 4th Line of Mapleton. Upon arrival firefighters took control of the scene and contained the fire.
“Electric lines in the feed manger were the cause of the fire,” said Fire Chief Rick Richardson. “The farm’s owners worked quickly to contain the fire in a large round hay bale by using a fire extinguisher and buckets of water.”
Firefighters at the scene pulled the round hay bale apart with forks and doused the bale with water. Trusses above the feed manger received fire damage, but the fire did not spread beyond the feed manger.
“The farm owners had installed ABC fire extinguishers recommended by the Mapleton Fire Department,” Richardson said. “These extinguishers, along with the quick actions of the farm’s owners and the Mapleton firefighters, saved approximately 90 head housed in the dairy barn.
“It’s a good News story that the [department] is happy to share.”
