By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
It was the worst of combinations for firefighters – the polar vortex, an aerial fire truck, and freezing water – lots of it.
Bowling Green Fire Division spent much of the afternoon in sub-zero temperatures trying to extinguish a silo fire on Gallier Road, a dirt road northeast of the city.
“It was not a good scene,” Bowling Green Fire Chief Bill Moorman said as he thawed out after crews returned to the station. “It was the worst situation you could have” as far as weather conditions.
The silo fire was noticed in the afternoon when smoke was spotted coming from the concrete structure. Center Township Fire Department responded and called BG Fire Division for its aerial ladder and firefighters, as well as equipment and manpower from Pemberville Fire Department.
The silo hadn’t been used for years, but was full of corn silage.
“We have no idea how it started,” Moorman said.
The aerial ladder attacked the fire from above, but the fire appeared to be simmering deep in the center of the silage, Moorman said.
The silo was not worth saving, but the building nearby was at risk.
“Right next to it was a barn full of cattle,” he said.
After about three hours of trying to extinguish the fire, the three fire chiefs on the scene decided that efforts to put out the fire should halt until conditions improved. The crews were having difficulty with equipment freezing and were close to having to call in warm reinforcements, Moorman said.
“The fire was not going to go anywhere,” he said.
Arrangements were made to evacuate the cattle to other barns in the area.
The crews will return soon – “but hopefully it’s not tonight,” Moorman said.
The chiefs were concerned about injuries if they continued in the cold.
“That was part of the reason we stopped,” Moorman said. “It was very unpredictable. The conditions were brutal.”
And the risks were greater than the benefits, the chief said. “Why risk injuries?”
“They were very cold,” Moorman said of his firefighters. “Everyone was happy to stop the operation.”
