Fire destroys barn, Boone County agencies investigating

The Boone County Fire Protection District responded late Monday night to a barn fire in the 6400 block of Locust Grove Church Road.

Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp told ABC 17 News the building was “fully involved” at the time crews were dispatched.

“The first units arrived on scene and the barn was already on the ground,” said Blomenkamp. “There was nothing left to save.”

Blomenkamp said the firefighters made sure there was no danger in the fire spreading. The homeowner said he’d stay on scene to make sure it stayed under control. Blomenkamp said the firefighters spent about 30 minutes at the scene.

The 60 by 60-foot pole barn and its contents constituted an estimated loss of $125,000 in property, according to the department.

Because of the extensive damage, a definitive cause of the fire will be difficult to find. However, Blomenkamp said the homeowner told firefighters he had turned on a heat lamp for baby chicks before going to sleep. Blomenkamp said they can’t be sure that is the cause, but it is possible the lamp got too hot or too close to combustibles. The fire department will still conduct its own investigation to see what, if anything, they can find.

Blomenkamp said being a rural fire department does have its challenges because they are far from water sources and can take ten or more minutes to get to the scene of a fire. But he said they train for these situations and take water with them in their tankers and shuttle water to them when needed.