Washington County farm fire damages shed, equipment

TOWN OF WAYNE - A fire at Beck Dairy Farms caused about $100,000 in damage after a fire broke out around 5:15 p.m., on Sept. 16, in Washington County. 

The Washington County Sheriff's Department responded to a shed fire on Highway 28 in the Town of Wayne and were told a tractor and two other pieces of equipment were in the shed. All other equipment and animals have been evacuated, according to a press release from the Sheriff's office. 

Heavy black smoke was coming from the shed when officers arrived.

Employees at Beck Dairy were moving equipment and told officers they had deployed a fire suppression tool into the shed hoping to extinguish the fire, but weren't sure the tool had deployed properly. Employees believed the fire started in the engine compartment of the tractor. 

Kohlsville Fire Department, with assistance from 11 area departments, extinguished the fire, containing the damage to the shed and its contents. 

The 100-feet by 42-feet shed was used for equipment and as an animal shelter. 

The fire appeared to have started in or near the engine compartment of a Case IH tractor. The tractor, a second piece of equipment and the shed were damaged in the fire with damage estimates exceeding $100,000.

No injuries were reported. The fire is under investigation by the Washington County Sheriff's Office Detective Division.