Sanborn, Iowa — Seventy-nine large bales and the shed they were in were destroyed in a fire on Tuesday evening, October 3, 2023, near Sanborn.
According to Sanborn Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Back, at about 9:00 p.m., the Sanborn Fire Department was called to the report of a bale fire at 5488 280th Street, two miles west and four north of Sanborn.
The assistant chief says the fire department saw the open-front building full of large square bales on fire as they approached the scene. He says a payloader assisted the firefighters and they sprayed water and foam on the bales to extinguish them.
Assistant Chief Back says no injuries were reported. He says the cause of the fire appeared to be spontaneous combustion.
Assistant Chief Back reports that both the bales and the building were totaled in the blaze.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about five and a half hours.
