108 hay bales lost in Thiele Farm fire Thursday night
JEFFERSON TWP — Spontaneous combustion is believed to be the cause of a fire at Thiele Dairy Farm that burned 108 hay bales and a small structure late Thursday, June 29.
“When you pack that hay tight with a baler, it can eventually mold and spontaneously combust,” farm owner William Thiele said.
Crews fought the blaze for several hours, arriving on scene around midnight and leaving around 4:30 a.m. Friday, June 30, according to Chris Dean, chief of Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Department.
The bales were packed inside a 50-by-30 foot structure covered with a tarp-like fabric, called a hay hoop, Thiele said. Only the metal frame of the structure remains.
“It was a matter of getting them out and pulling (the bales) apart to put it out,” Dean said.
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