Spontaneous combustion caused barn fire

ORLEANS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Spontaneous combustion in hay bales is being blamed for a fire that destroyed an Ionia County barn early Friday.

A neighbor pounded on farmer David Brown's door about 1 a.m. to let him know about the fire.

"I got the cattle out... Had a couple of dogs by the barn. I got them out," said Brown.

While you may have heard about fires caused by spontaneous combustion, not everyone knows just how common it is in farming, more specifically, hay storage.

Sometimes fresh cut hay doesn't totally dry before it's bundled.

"It can't dry. It just stays wet and it just builds up heat all of the sudden it just dries out enough so it ignites," said Orleans Township Fire Chief Les Doty.
 
A total of seven departments were called in to help fight the blaze in the 4600 block of N. Johnson Road in Orleans Township.

" We put about 30,000 gallons of water on it. These are hard to put out," said Doty, who returned to the farm Friday afternoon to make sure all the hot spots were being put out.

David Brown, with some help from relatives, built the barn with his own hands after a fire a couple of years ago that wiped out another barn on the site. It wasn't the first time bad luck had struck the barn.
 
"Yeah, they had a fire here before we bought the place 30 years ago... Same place, three different barns have burned here," said Brown.

Some might say it's time to find a new place to rebuild.

The good news is no one was hurt in the fire, including any animals, and farmer Brown has insurance.