McCook City and Volunteer Fire Department

ELEVATOR FIRE

Firefighters arrived on the scene and found smoke emitting from a door to the elevator leg pit and an entrance door leading to the main elevator.  The Red Willow Western Rural Fire Department was called in for mutual aid to provide manpower.  

The fire was located in the elevator leg pit and extended into an underground tunnel that connects the main elevator to the concrete storage bins.  Once the fire was located, firefighters extinguished the fire while taking precautions to reduce the potential for a grain dust explosion.  

Seventeen firefighters from the McCook City and Volunteer Fire Department and approximately twelve members of the Red Willow Western Rural Fire Department remained on the scene for approximately three hours extinguishing hot spots throughout the tunnel.

The staff of the Frenchman Valley Coop needs to be commended for their cooperation prior to and during this situation.  They have invited the fire department to the facility within the last year so that the fire department could familiarize themselves with the layout and potential dangers within the facility.  This, along with the assistance that the staff provided at the scene went a long way in allowing the fire department to quickly extinguish the fire and avoid further damage and potential for further problems.

The investigation revealed that overheated equipment in the leg pit ignited some grain.  The fire than extended through a grain chute into the main tunnel where a large conveyer belt was ignited and burned for an extended period of time.