By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Freezing temperatures didn’t seem to matter one bit to the fire that engulfed Mennco Grain in Nevada.
Wyandot East firefighters responded to the grain bin fire at 105 S. Main St. after an initial report came in at 9:03 p.m. Monday.
Wyandot East Fire Chief Troy Johnson said the fire was reported after a passerby saw a glow at the bottom of one of the grain dryers. The grain bin became superheated and fire soon engulfed the structure, which contained around 2,500 bushels of soybeans.
“By the time he seen it and called it in, it burst in flames,” Johnson reported.
Pitt Township Fire Department and the Upper Sandusky Fire Department assisted at the scene along with firefighters from Bucyrus, Dallas, and Holmes Townships. The Bucyrus City Fire Department also arrived on scene with its ladder truck to help put out the fire on the 70 foot tall structure.
The combined fire departments used between 80,000 and 90,000 gallons of water, which came not only from Nevada but had also been hauled in from out of town.
With the amount of trucks traveling to and from the grain fire, the railroad tracks had to be closed. The Ohio Department of Transportation and Eden Township also brought in plow and salt trucks to keep the roads cleared.
“It was just a sheet of ice everywhere,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the fire was finally brought under control sometime around midnight. He added that according to Mennco, which is a division of Mennel Milling Company, the bin sustained about $300,000 worth of damage. The nearby grain bins, which were only about six feet away from the fire, sustained no damages.
Johnson said they don’t know the cause of the fire but did not believe it to be suspicious.
He thanked the Upper Sandusky Burger King for providing food to the firefighters.