Monday, August 27, the main elevator and two grain annexes owned by the New Hartford Elevator company went up in flames around 6am--the cause was reportedly spontaneous combustion . A 2-ton feed truck (one of 14) also burned. The main grain elevator was 60 feet tall and was 3/4 full of corn, soybeans, and oats.
Harley Parks, who was operating a bulk oil truck nearby sounded the alarm around 6:15am by calling a New Hartford restaurant--Mrs. George Dove took the call; she in turn alerted the phones of 7 New Hartford firemen. Approximately 100 spectators were on hand to watch the elevator burn, and by 7:15am, the structure was leveled, annihilating 60,000 bushels. Firemen came from New Hartford, Cedar Falls, and Parkersburg, and used up all the water in the town's tank.
Merrill Shaw, the company owner since 1944 was in MN on vacation on the day of the fire. It was actually the second fire in the elevator's history: the elevator also burned in 1923 while it was still newly under construction.
Comments:
Monday, August 27, the main elevator and two grain annexes owned by the New Hartford Elevator company went up in flames around 6am--the cause was reportedly spontaneous combustion . A 2-ton feed truck (one of 14) also burned. The main grain elevator was 60 feet tall and was 3/4 full of corn, soybeans, and oats.
Harley Parks, who was operating a bulk oil truck nearby sounded the alarm around 6:15am by calling a New Hartford restaurant--Mrs. George Dove took the call; she in turn alerted the phones of 7 New Hartford firemen. Approximately 100 spectators were on hand to watch the elevator burn, and by 7:15am, the structure was leveled, annihilating 60,000 bushels. Firemen came from New Hartford, Cedar Falls, and Parkersburg, and used up all the water in the town's tank.
Merrill Shaw, the company owner since 1944 was in MN on vacation on the day of the fire. It was actually the second fire in the elevator's history: the elevator also burned in 1923 while it was still newly under construction.