Two-alarm fire destroys barn

Smoke blackened the sky shortly after midday Monday when a barn located at the intersection of Humphrey and Orr roads was destroyed by a fire.

Someone reported the fire Monday at around 12:35 p.m., said Fire District 3 assistant chief Paul Busch.

“Unfortunately, no one called it in until it was fully involved,” Busch said. “It was an old structure and didn’t take long to really get going.”

Clinton residents Kevin and Mary Tallman own the barn and nearby home.

The 36 by 60 foot wood barn with a metal roof sheltered the couple’s horses and held numerous wood working tools, an old motorcycle and a car. The horses were not in the barn at the time of the fire.

“Everything was beyond saving,” Busch said.

At the time of the fire, no one was in the home, which sits approximately 40 feet away from the destroyed structure.

“Our main concern when we arrived was protecting the house and two vehicles that were nearby,” Busch said.

The house sustained no damage but the fire scorched the paint on a nearby vehicle.

Mary Tallman said the house was built around the turn of the century by Tom and Bertha Orr. She said she suspected the barn was also an older structure, though built after the home.

Busch said firefighters contained the blaze within 20 minutes of arriving on scene. The two-alarm fire required four water tanker trucks, three fire engines and additional personnel. Firefighters cleared the scene around 3:30 p.m.

Because of the extent of damage, the cause of the fire could not be determined.

“It all appears to be accidental at this point,” Busch said.

There will be no investigation by district personnel of the fire, he said. It will be up to the Tallman’s insurance company to continue any further examination of the fire.

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