A fire destroyed two hog barns at a Christensen Farms nursery site Wednesday morning about 5 miles northwest of Sleepy Eye. Sleepy Eye firefighters and the Brown County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched at 6:04 a.m. Six tanker trucks, two engine trucks plus Sleepy Eye’s aerial truck were used at the fire. Assistance was provided by Springfield, Morgan, Comfrey and New Ulm Fire Departments.
“When we showed up, two hog barns were involved,” Zinniel said. “We contained the fire to two of six barns at the site.”
Zinniel said the aerial truck came in especially handy.
“It was a big, big help. We were able to get above it (the fire),” Zinniel said. “With hog barns, it’s a plus to get up high, see what’s going on and spray water on it. We used close to 40,000 gallons of water. Each truck ran four to five loads of water from Sleepy Eye.”
Zinniel said his department returned to the fire station at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.