Neighbours help contain spreading field fire
No injuries in 80-acre blaze that caused $500,000 in damages
CENTRE WELLINGTON – The local farming community came together on Wednesday to help stop the spread of a significant field fire that destroyed 160 straw bales.
A fire that started in a baler, towed by a tractor, spread across 80 acres southeast of Belwood before hitting a break cut by a neighbouring farmer who carved a perimeter around the growing blaze with a disk plow before it could reach a bush lot.
Centre Wellington Fire Rescue deputy chief Jonathan Karn said the neighbour likely saved 50 acres from burning.
Volunteer firefighters from Centre Wellington, Rockwood, Hillsburgh and Grand Valley responded at around 2pm on Aug. 5 to the blaze along Wellington Road 26, between Erin-Garafraxa Townline and Wellington Road 18.
Nobody was hurt in the fire.
Another neighbour arrived with a front loader to break up burning straw bales as tanker trucks emptied tens of thousands of litres of water onto the burning crop.
“You really want to ensure the stuff is out, if not the wind picks up and it burns again and the fire can jump,” Karn said.
The department sourced water from Fergus hydrants until another neighbour offered a pond on their nearby property, saving the fire department crucial time.
“There was a lot of [outside help] at this call,” Karn said.
“The farming community, that rural community, are quick to come together.”
About 30 volunteer firefighters were on the scene, said Karn, along with equipment and vehicles. Crews cleared at around 5:30pm.
Karn estimated there was $500,000 in damage between the tractor, baler and lost revenue from the destroyed crop.
Fire departments across Wellington County respond to baler fires each cutting season, Karn said, likely because mechanical components heat up and ignite dry material within.
This is Centre Wellington’s first of the season, he noted.
Last week, a tractor and baler in Palmerston were destroyed in a fire.
Karn suggested farm equipment operators ensure they know a field’s municipal address and to call 911 immediately, even if attempting to self-extinguish a fire.
Nicole Beswitherick
