HAY FIRE

SHELBY - Firefighters were still at the scene this Friday morning of a fire that started Thursday afternoon at Todd Tuls' Double Dutch Dairy south of Shelby.

The cause of the fire that destroyed about 1,800 hay bales and a steel roof structure is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office. No injuries were reported.

Shelby Rural Fire District Chief Jon Eller expects firefighters will remain at the dairy for, possibly, another two days.

"Bales don't go out easily," Eller said. "You've got to break them apart."

Because of a concern about the roof structure collapsing over the bales, firefighters were unable to break up the bales. The structure was sagging but still standing Friday morning.

Animals at the dairy were not moved out of their pens, because they were not near the fire, Eller said.

Firefighters were dispatched at 1:34 p.m. Thursday to the dairy located at 12723 V Road. Mutual aid was soon requested and about 75 firefighters were at the fire during the course of the afternoon.

Eleven departments from Polk and Butler counties were at the fire. Each department brought one or two trucks. Besides water contained in those trucks, water was hauled from Shelby, Rising City and from a well at the dairy farm.

The mutual aid request was canceled at about 6 p.m. Thursday.

No dollar amount was available Friday for the damage to the bales or the structure.