Farmer’s quick actions save barn

Bob Kran, right, watches firefighters inspect the tractor.

By Rob Alway. Editor-in-Chief. 

FREE SOIL TWP. — Three fire departments responded to a barn fire at Kran Farms Monday night on Tuttle Road south of Freeman Road. The fire was actually confined to a tractor and caused little damage to the actual structure.

Bob Kran Jr., who lives a few hundred yards down the road, said he stopped to speak to his dad, Bob Kran Sr. when he discovered the fire.

“I thought I smelled garbage burning,” Kran said. “I went over the barn, opened the door and flames shot out. I immediately shut the door again and called 911.”

Kran said the John Deere 6200 tractor had just been used earlier in the day. He said he thought the fire was started from the electrical system. The pole barn itself is about 4,300 square feet. “The damage to the building was mostly just smoke,” Kran said.

“Bob was smart to keep the doors closed,” Free Soil/Meade Assistant Fire Chief Mo Padilla said. “We got to the scene and the fire was pretty much out.”

Free Soil/Meade, Grant Twp. and Fountain Area fire departments responded, as did Mason County Sheriff’s Office deputies and the Free Soil/Meade Fire Auxiliary.

Firefighters were on scene for just over an hour.