A call came in shortly after 9:00 p.m. on Monday for a barn fire south of Stratford, in the Town of Day on Kraus Road.
At the time of the call, Stratford Area Fire Department was holding a meeting at the station. Fire Chief Tim Carey said, “Our response time was immediate.”
Upon arrival at the scene, Chief Carey called for additional support. Fire departments from Hewitt, McMillian, Auburndale and Spencer responded. The entire barn was engulfed in flames.
Even with the quick response, the barn was a total loss. Chief Carey stated that their focus was to save the building near the barn. No additional structures were lost due to the fire.
A number of livestock died in the blaze, including chickens and one sheep. However, “A number of chickens were running around outside when we arrived and must have escaped,” Chief Carey said.
A total of 30 safety personnel were on the scene. Stratford has 25 volunteer members and 15 of them responded to the call. No injuries to any of the personnel was reported.
The five departments utilized 15 apparatus to combat the fire. Ten tender trucks transported over 50,000 gallons of water to the blaze. Water was pumped out of ponds located in Rozeville and McMillian.
Crews were on the scene until 12:30 a.m. Area sheriff’s department assisted with traffic.
In 2019, Stratford Area Fire Department will be upgrading their call alarm system to MABAS, Mutual Aid Box Alarm System. The call alarm system will be configured to allow for dispatch to have better knowledge on which departments to call upon during the need for mutual aid. The department serves 140 square miles. Based on the township in which the call originated and scale of the call, dispatch will know which resources to call out.
At this time, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
http://focusonmarshfield.com/breaking-news-barn-fire-in-stratford/
