A newly delivered load of ground up paper and saw dust used for cattle bedding at Zuber Farms was on fire when it came off the delivery truck this evening, according to John Durand, chief of the Byron Volunteer Fire Department.
The fire was reported at the station, where the department had assembled for Monday night training, about 7 o'clock.
Durand said the fire was out in about 10 minutes, but then there was an ongoing task of spreading out the sawdust, wetting it down, spreading it out more and then doing it again. Plus, they had to check it periodically with a thermal camera to ensure the fire was doused.
The process served as good training for his crew, Durand said, and the method his firefighters used helped save most of the $1,500 worth of bedding.
South Byron assisted, in a large part, Durand said, to ensure manpower relief because of the heat of the day.
"Byron and South Byron always work together," Durand said. "Because it's so hot, I wanted the ambulance here in case the heat got to anybody in full turn-out gear and air packs (which they wore) because I didn't want them to breath the paper dust into their lungs."
Audio: MP3 of Interview with Chief Durand.
Initial Reports Below:
Fire units are responding to a reported "small sawdust fire" at Zuber Farms in Byron.
UPDATE: I missed the first alarm on this fire. It sounds like mutual aid from Wyoming County was called in. There are tankers being refilled, so I'm not sure how "small" the fire is.
UPDATE: Mixed calls on the Wyoming dispatch. That was for training in Pavilion. I'll have more on this fire a little later.
they are doing a drill in
they are doing a drill in wyoming county, that's the tanker refill you heard.