Posted: 10/9/07
Diersen family thankful for
much following October 1 fire
By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor
The Monday evening milking chores were just getting underway at the John and Karyl Diersen farm. Suddenly, the door of the milkhouse burst open and Caledonia resident Jeff Ranzenberger rushed in to tell the Diersens the large machine shed located on the north edge of their farmstead was on fire.
Black smoke was already billowing out of the overhead door on the east end of the 60 by 117-foot steel building. Karyl called 911 to report the fire, and was told it had already been reported and the Caledonia Fire Department was in route.
"When we drove past the fairgrounds, I could see the black smoke and knew we were going to need a lot of water. So I called Brownsville for two tankers," Caledonia Fire Chief Chuck Gavin said, recalling the events of that October first evening. "Before we even pulled into the farm, I realized we were going to need more help."
Gavin contracted the Eitzen, Hokah, and Spring Grove fire departments and requested more tanker trucks. Copious amounts of water were going to be needed to save the Diersenís house, which is less than a stoneís throw from the machine shed. According to Gavin, about 60,000 gallons of water was used to battle the blaze. Firemen were on the scene until about 10:30 p.m.
Because it was a steel building without any roof openings, it was nearly impossible to get any water into the west end of the building to extinguish the fire, which was spreading through the structure. The fire started in the southwest corner of the building in a 200-amp service box, which investigators later determined had been struck by lightning the night before.
The east door of the building was open. John was able to get his IH 1066 tractor and a self-propelled hay bind out of the shed. Karyl found the box of Holstein dairy decorations she had been collecting. But that was about it.
"I thought about opening the west door to try to get the combine, wagons, and tractors out, but was told not to open the door. The back draft might have been lethal," John said.
The Diersens lost a new 1460 IH combine with just 22 hours on it, five gravity boxes containing 1,400 bushels of soybeans (two brand new gravity boxes that they bought two weeks prior to the fire, and three more they had borrowed from neighbors), a 4420 John Deere tractor, four antique John Deere tractors (ranging from a 1937-A to a 1957 530), a corn planter, drill, sprayer, numerous other tillage implements, lawnmovers, snowblower, tools, and 30 big square bales of alfalfa.
About the time the first fire trucks arrived, Diersenís neighbors were on hand to help in any way they could. They tried to help get equipment out of the burning building, moved equipment out of the way of the steady stream of tanker trucks making trip after trip back to Caledonia for more water, and helped with the evening milking chores. Neighbors also brought sandwiches and liquids for the firemen.
"Itís amazing how many people came to help us, not only during the fire, but all week," Karyl said Friday morning. "Weíve had friends, relatives, and neighbors offer to help us with our milking, getting our crops out, and cleaning up the mess from the fire. You really donít know just how many caring people there are out there until something like this happens."
John echoed his wifeís sentiments, and added, "Iíve already had offers from the area implement dealers if we need to use equipment to get our crops out. Our neighbors have also offered to help any way they can.
"We were so lucky it was a calm evening," John continued. "The firemen did an unbelievable job of saving our trees, the house, and keeping the fire from spreading to the cornfield."
A row of stately hardwoods are situated 30 feet to the south of the machine shed, the Diersenís large frame farm house is less than 30 feet from the trees, and cornfields surround the north and east sides of the building.
"No one was hurt. The fire didnít destroy our dairy barn. None of our cows were injured. It could have been so much worse," Karyl noted, as she, John, and their son Josh sifted through the rumble Wednesday morning.
Caledonia Argus
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