Published August 06. 2020 08:06AM
Volunteer firefighters were dispatched 8:17 p.m. July 22 for a two-alarm pole barn fire with flames shooting through the roof at 8281 Holbens Valley Road, Weisenberg Township.
According to Weisenberg Township Fire Chief Matt Krapf in an email to The Press, as many as 10 fire companies and 65 firefighters were called in to battle the fire.
Krapf said the fire companies included Weisenberg, New Tripoli, Germansville, Lynnport, Schnecksville, Neffs, Alburtis, Kempton, Woodlawn and Tri-Clover.
Cetronia Ambulance had two units, a standard Advanced Life Support truck and its rehabilitation unit at the scene.
“It took around 30 minutes to get the fire under control,” Krapf said. “Firefighters remained on scene until approximately 2:30 a.m. to extinguish hot spots within the large hay bales.”
He said an excavator assisted with breaking apart the bales to help prevent the fire from reigniting.
A tanker shuttle was set up from a nearby pond to get water to the scene.
The pole barn also had agricultural equipment and three calves inside at the time of the blaze.
One of the calves perished in the fire.
There were no firefighter injuries, and the Weisenberg Township Volunteer Fire Department fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze, Krapf said in the email.
According to published reports, the farm is owned by the Larry Wisser family.
PRESS PHOTO COURTESY BRIAN CARL Weisenberg, New Tripoli, Germansville, Lynnport, Schnecksville, Neffs, Alburtis, Kempton, Woodlawn and Tri-Clover fire companies were dispatched 8:17 p.m. July 22 for a two-alarm pole barn fire at 8281 Holbens Valley Road, Weisenberg Township.
This photo taken from the tip of the Weisenberg Township aerial truck shows the pole barn after the fire was extinguished.