A Hay Barn Fire. Spontaneous Combustion?

On Thursday evening of July 1, 2010, I was on the way to Brookway Church of Christ in Brookhaven for Vacation Bible School when our fire department received a call of a hay barn on fire on Bogue Chitto Road. Upon arrival, the stacked hay under a metal canopy was flaming high. With three volunteer fire departments on scene (Bogue Chitto, Hog Chain, and Zetus VFD) there was no way that we could extinguish the hay as we would have been there all night. On a positive note of such a bad occasion, I captured this interesting shot and added a few effects. Cows in the meadow are not phased by the events taking place in real-time.

Fire Department in Editorial Art Gallery

Here is some interesting information on how this fire may have started and you'd be surprised at how many people don't know this. Although I could not say that this was the exact cause without an investigation, it has a lot of credibility. This excerpt was taken from Dr. Don Ball of Auburn University -- Prevention of Hay Fires:

Spontaneous Combustion

Spontaneous combustion can occur in hay if it is baled at too high a moisture level. The general recommendation is that small rectangular bales should be baled at 20% moisture or less and that large round bales should be baled at 18% moisture or less The exception to this is when a hay preservative such as proprionic acid is applied to the hay prior to bailing. When this is done, hay may be safely baled at 25 percent moisture or higher.

Heating of hay is caused by the activity of microorganisms. Dry hay does not heat excessively because it lacks the necessary moisture to support any significant microbial growth. The microorganisms that cause heating are naturally present on forage and they will become active if conditions are suitable.

Spontaneous combustion is more likely to occur in tightly baled hay as opposed to loosely baled hay, and packing newly made bales tightly together in a barn also makes it more difficult for heat to escape. However, there could be danger anytime the recommended moisture levels for baling are exceeded, although if the moisture level is no more than a few percent higher than recommended it is likely that the main negative result will be moldy hay. The higher above recommended levels that the moisture level goes, the greater the likelihood of extreme heating and fire.

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