Date: March 30, 2018
Location: Hanley Falls, MN (USA)
Address: 1972 510th St, 56245
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Grain
Industry: Farming (Agricultural)
Equipment: Grain Elevator
Company: Hanley Falls Farmers Cooperative
Previous Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
The Hanley Falls Farmers Cooperative is one of several divisions of the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company. The grain elevator has been used to store grain for the community since 1959.
Description of Grain Dust Fire:
On March 30, 2018, WDAZ reported a structural fire at a grain elevator in the small community of Hanley Falls, Minnesota.
The Yellow Medicine Sheriff’s Department stated that a railroad crew spotted the fire at around 4:30 a.m. and reported it. By the time the first volunteers reached the scene, flames were already erupting from the traditional wood-crib elevator.
Volunteers and emergency responders went door-to-door evacuating residents while local firefighters fought to contain the blaze using water from a nearby river. According to the Advocate-Tribune, they also used water to create a perimeter around the elevator to prevent the flames from spreading.
Nearby fire departments arrived with aerial ladder trucks and sprayed water on the burning elevator and two nearby concrete grain silos. Once the fire was controlled, a cleanup crew arrived to make sure that the smoldering piles of grain and wood did not flare up.
A wind from the southeast carried embers into a residential area, but no additional fires broke out.
The general manager confirmed that the grain elevator, which was used only for storage, was about half full of grain at the time the fire broke out. No staff members were in the structure at the time.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown.
Sources:
WDAZ
Advocate-Tribune
