Barn fire considered total loss
More information has been uncovered about the blaze at 5087 County Road 33A that occurred Tuesday morning on March 30.
The St. Marys Township Fire Department received the initial report of the fire at about 10:45 am, the call coming form the Auglaize County Emergency Management Agency director. Smoke was seen coming out of the building from the south side, which resulted in the department
soon asking for help.
Chief Doug Ayers of the city of St. Marys Fire Department, who was at the scene after receiving the request for backup, said that about 10 different fire departments came together to calm the blaze, including his organization and the St. Marys Township department. The departments said to have been a part of the effort were the New Knoxville, New Bremen, MinsterJackson Township, Fort Loramie, Spencerville, Montezuma, Buckland and the St. Johns fire departments.
Ayers mentioned that due to the fire taking so much of the townships and city’s attention, they had made sure to call the departments in Celina to cover for any other emergencies that happened at the time. He would later say that, “All the agencies worked well together.”
However, despite the teamwork done by the departments mentioned, it took until 4:30 pm for the blaze to officially calm down. The last trucks were said to have left about 7:50 pm as well. About 75 percent of the property was damaged and considered a total loss. Estimates say that the building received damages up to $2 million. No injuries or casualties were reported at the time of the fire.
The source of the fire has not been confirmed at this time. The St. Marys Township Fire Department was unable to be reached for comment.