Sibley, Iowa — A hog barn was damaged in a fire on Saturday, September 28, 2024, near Sibley.
According to Sibley Fire Chief Ken Hulls, at about 9:30 a.m., the Sibley Fire Department was called to the report of a hog barn fire at 5343 110th Street, six miles north and a half a mile east of Sibley.
The chief says when they got there they met the owner of the 2-sided hog building. He says the east side was full of smoke but no visible flame. Huls says they determined that there had been a methane explosion from the manure pit gas. He says it was a flash-type fire, which melted PVC items, but nothing actually burned as the extreme heat existed for a very short time.
Hulls says no injuries were reported and the building didn’t have any livestock in it at the time.
Huls tells us they asked for the Bigelow firefighters to be paged as well, but when they got there, he told them the Sibley firefighters could handle it.
Huls tells us they did spray a little water on things just to make sure and also checked the building with thermal imaging to make sure there were no hidden hot spots.
He says they believe a motor kicking in ignited the pit gas.
Chief Hulls reports that according to the owner, there was between $30,000 and $40,000 in damages.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about an hour and a half.
