COMBUSTIBLES NEAR A PROPANE HEATER INSIDE A BARN IN FAIRGROVE TWP., MICHIGAN CATCH FIRE, KILLING SOME CATTLE; MOST CATTLE SAVED, OTHERS ROUNDED UP BY VOLUNTEERS
January 30, 2015
FAIRGROVE
TWP., MICHIGAN— A fire here on Thursday afternoon destroyed a barn, killing
some beef cattle and causing minor injuries to oneperson, according to
firefighters.
Firefighters
from seven departments battled the 2 p.m. blaze in the barn owned by Kirk and
Cynthia Dinsmoore at 5509 W. Gilford Rd., according to Fairgrove Fire Chief
Doug Young.
Responders
freed “a vast majority” of the cattle, Young said. While some cattle remained
near the burning barn, about 12 others ran free in a group after the fire,
heading through farm fields near Gilford Road. Volunteers in automobiles, or
riding all-terrain vehicles, tracked the animals so they could be captured,
according to firefighters.
“Various
farmers came and rounded them up and loaded them in trailers and took the
cattle to their farms to house them,” Young said. “It was a real good response
by the community.”
Young said
he hasn’t determined the total number of cattle at the time of the fire in the
barn, which he said was insured.
Firefighters
believe the blaze may have started near a propane heater inside the barn on the
southwest corner of the intersection of Gilford and Kirk roads.
Young said
one of the Dinsmoores’ sons had minor burns to his hand due to the fire, but
wasn’t hospitalized.
The last
firefighters left the scene about 11 p.m. Thursday, Young said. The blaze
didn’t damage a house south of the barn, despite north winds throughout the
day.
“The wind
wasn’t as strong at the time of the fire as it was later in the evening,” Young
said. “The good Lord was looking out.”