Fire crews responded on March 31 to Orange Madison Cooperative on Davis Highway (Route 22) after a power line fell on propane tanks and caused an adjacent fertilizer shed to catch on fire.
Jonathan Apperson, Louisa County deputy fire chief, said he believes a front end loader struck a power pole, causing the chain of events that led to the blaze.
"The power lines fell across two 100 gallon propane tanks that were connected to the fertilizer office building," said Justin Dreckman, the cooperative's general manager. "As the lines fell across the tanks, they pulled the propane line that was running to the building away from the tanks. This caused the tanks to start releasing propane. The loose power lines sparked, igniting the propane in the air and subsequently the building."
No employees were in the building at the time of the fire.