MARCH 27, 2015
BANGOR, MICHIGAN
Fire consumed a 20,000-square-foot barn Thursday night in
Van Buren County, causing an estimated $200,000 in damages.
At approximately 8 p.m. Thursday, the Bangor Fire Department
responded to 36399 County Road 681, Bangor, on reports of a barn fire. There
they discovered an out building, roughly 50 feet behind a two-story home,
partly involved in flames, Bangor Fire Chief Derek Babcock said.
"It was all through the roof here," Babcock said,
pointing to the barn's southwest corner. "There was just so much wood and
lumber, bales of hay stacked in the back.
"It was tough getting (the fire) under control,"
he added.
Firefighters doused the building with water from five
different hoses and cut large holes into the barn's second story siding in
order to ventilate the flames, Babcock said.
It took roughly two hours for crews to subdue the fire, and
by 11:30 p.m. eight different departments, including the Lawrence, Keeler
Township, Watervliet, Columbia Township, and Hartford fire departments were on
scene, Babcock said.
A neighbor, driving a front end loader, used
his equipment to clear debris and open up lanes for fire-hoses,
according to Babcock.
Though flames crept through majority of the
20,000-square-foot barn, firefighters managed to control the spread.
"We made a stop here," Babcock said, pointing at
the barn's north end, which contained a snowmobile, a four-wheeler and more
than five antique horse carriages.
"We did a good job getting (that property out),"
the Bangor fire chief added, "but (the barn) is a total
loss."
There were no injuries in the fire, Babcock said. The
property, saved by firefighters, was valued at roughly $15,000 by the
homeowner.
Preliminary investigations suggest the fire started in the
southwest corner of the building, Babcock said, and was possibly
caused by a wood boiler, which set 30 bales of hay, as well as nearby timber,
alight.
Emergency personal closed a two-mile stretch of road in
order to fight the blaze.
Source: http://www.mlive.com