Firefighters from both the Miami Valley Fire District and Jefferson Township were dispatched to the 6100 block of South Union Road after neighbors reported a large barn fully engulfed in fire near a house.
Miami Valley Fire District Chief Glenn Jerka said crews not only battled the flames, but were faced with a shortage of water due to the location of this blaze.
“There are some limited numbers of hydrants but they are not close” Jerka said. “You need to get ahold of water and get it on the road so that you can play catch up with the fire.”
Several tankers and crews were called in from Madison Township in Butler County, Franklin Township in Warren County, Germantown, West Carrollton, and Moraine in Montgomery County all due to the large nature of this fire and its location away from water.
Crews also dealt with two large propane tanks that were adjacent to the barn, but neither one exploded. Jerka said one of the tanks vented and released some gas into the air, causing a small explosion, but did so as a safety measure when the pressure went too high.
Jerka said crews were able to contain the fire to just the one large barn, and the neighboring house and a separate barn were not damaged. The barn is considered a total loss.
No animals were housed in the destroyed barn. Family members said a few classic cars were lost in the blaze, but an exact estimate of what was lost was not immediately available.
Investigators are attempting to determine the cause of the fire, but Jerka said the exact cause may never be known due to the heat of the fire.
Homeowners were home at the time of the fire, but no injuries were reported.
UPDATE @ 3:15 a.m.:
Family members on the scene said the barn housed a few classic cars and landscaping equipment, but no animals.
Reports indicate up to ten separate departments from Butler, Montgomery, and Warren counties have responded and are working to extinguish the blaze.
No injuries have been reported.
FIRST REPORT
Firefighters from several jurisdictions have responded to a reported fully engulfed barn fire on South Union Road in Miamisburg.
Crews were first dispatched around 2:10 a.m. to the 6100 block of South Union Road, but it was not immediately known if the barn is occupied.
We have a crew heading to the scene and will update this page when new information is available.