RUSSIA — A monitoring system and quick thinking saved a hog barn that caught fire Monday evening in Russia.
The Russia Fire Department was dispatched to a barn fire at the 2000 block of Fessler-Buxton Road in Russia at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 24. According to Russia Fire Chief Tom Phlipot, there was a gas line attached to rubber boot that attached to a heating mechanism that provided heat to the hog barn on the property. The rubber boot had come off the mechanism, allowing gas to escape due to a leak. Because of the gas line’s to the proximity to the heater, this caused a fire to break out in one of the sections of the barn.
“It’s like a lighter — if you clip a lighter, it’s just going to broaden, because it has gas applied to it,” Phlipot said.
Dan Elsass, who owns the property, had a monitoring system hooked up to the hog barn and had received a notification on his phone that the temperature in the barn was rising. Elsass went out to investigate and acted quickly, shutting off the gas line and contacting the fire department.
“He discovered it and was able to shut the gas off, which basically saved the whole building. Along with the monitoring system and his quick thinking, it pretty much saved his hog barn,” Phlipot said.
The fire was contained to one section of the barn, where no hogs were, and the hogs were able to be evacuated from the barn. No injuries were reported in the fire, and additional units from Houston Fire, Versailles Fire, Covington Fire, Fort Loramie Fire and Bradford Fire were dispatched to assist. The fire was extinguished within roughly 30 minutes, according to Phlipot.
The fire was ruled an accident due to a mechanical failure, and no other structures were damaged in the fire. The estimated cost of the fire damage to the barn is unknown at this time, but the extent of the damage includes a 10-foot by 10-foot square area in the barn. According to Phlipot, the majority of the damage was contained to that area of the barn.
