Kutztown Fire Company No. 1 - Incident Photos 042407

Two Topton Fire Company volunteers were injured Tuesday when an iron support beam fell on them as they battled a blaze in a farm-equipment storage shed in Maxatawny Township, authorities said. The injured men, whom fire officials did not identify, were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown, said Kutztown Fire Company Chief Troy Arndt, the officer in charge at the two-alarm blaze. Information on their conditions was unavailable. The injured volunteers were among firefighters from seven companies — five from Berks County and two from Lehigh County — who responded to the blaze shortly before 9 a.m. at the John Brubaker farm at 721 Siegfriedale Road. The farm borders the property of the Rodale Institute, an agricultural research organization, about a mile east of the Lehigh County line. The two volunteers were operating a hose line at a corner of the shed when the frame of the aluminum-walled building collapsed and a support beam fell on them, Arndt said. Officer Darren W. Simmers of the Berks-Lehigh Regional police, who was the first emergency responder to arrive, said heat from the blaze had melted the aluminum, leaving the beam standing free. The fire destroyed the 48-foot-by-120-foot shed and several pieces of farm equipment, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage, Arndt said. The fire started when Brubaker was burning a pile of wood about 100 feet from the building and the flames spread out of control, Arndt said. "The wind was blowing in the direction of the shed, and he (Brubaker) wasn’t watching it," the chief said. Wind swept the fire the length of the shed before the first fire trucks arrived, Arndt said. Firefighters could do little other than try to contain the fire to protect the main barn, which was about 75 feet away, he said. They also hosed down fuel-storage tanks behind the shed. The building contained hay, two tractors, a combine and a shredder, the chief said.

Tuesday April 24, 2007
Siegfriedale Road - Maxatawny Township Two Topton Fire Company volunteers were injured Tuesday when an iron support beam fell on them as they battled a blaze in a farm-equipment storage shed in Maxatawny Township, authorities said. The injured men, whom fire officials did not identify, were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown, said Kutztown Fire Company Chief Troy Arndt, the officer in charge at the two-alarm blaze. Information on their conditions was unavailable. The injured volunteers were among firefighters from seven companies — five from Berks County and two from Lehigh County — who responded to the blaze shortly before 9 a.m. at the John Brubaker farm at 721 Siegfriedale Road. The farm borders the property of the Rodale Institute, an agricultural research organization, about a mile east of the Lehigh County line. The two volunteers were operating a hose line at a corner of the shed when the frame of the aluminum-walled building collapsed and a support beam fell on them, Arndt said. Officer Darren W. Simmers of the Berks-Lehigh Regional police, who was the first emergency responder to arrive, said heat from the blaze had melted the aluminum, leaving the beam standing free. The fire destroyed the 48-foot-by-120-foot shed and several pieces of farm equipment, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage, Arndt said. The fire started when Brubaker was burning a pile of wood about 100 feet from the building and the flames spread out of control, Arndt said. "The wind was blowing in the direction of the shed, and he (Brubaker) wasn’t watching it," the chief said. Wind swept the fire the length of the shed before the first fire trucks arrived, Arndt said. Firefighters could do little other than try to contain the fire to protect the main barn, which was about 75 feet away, he said. They also hosed down fuel-storage tanks behind the shed. The building contained hay, two tractors, a combine and a shredder, the chief said. Contact reporter Steven Henshaw at 610-371-5028 or shenshaw@readingeagle.com Photos courtesy of Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department
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