ZUMBROTA, Minn. (KTTC) -- Neighbors came together in the country as a barn came down Sunday afternoon. A fire broke out around 5 p.m. near Zumbrota.
But perhaps the more meaningful storyline to this incident is good neighbors. For example, the neighbor who reported it.
"So he drove up to my place and I wasn't home, said Keith Olson. "So he went up to my daughter's and they got a hold of me."
Flames engulfed the barn as rescue crews arrived. Once the roof collapsed it was decided a little extra help wouldn't hurt. "Then word got out I needed a couple of loader tractors because my tractor burned up," said Olson.
In minutes, Olson's neighbors dropped everything and rushed to his farm. The neighbors may not have been trained to respond to emergency situations but they held their own against the Zumbrota and Mazeppa Fire Departments.
"Well jeesh! They were here before I was. I can't believe it," said Olson.
One after another the smoldering bails of hay were removed from the charred remnants of the barn.
The bails were then laid in a nearby grassy area for the fireman to put the cinders. Olson has lived on his farm his whole life and never has he encountered something quite like this.
"It's almost 90 degrees out and they (firemen) got these jackets on," he said. "I feel sorry for'em. They're doing a good job."
Olson may have lost his barn, but in the process some trust was earned. Olson tells us his first-of-two hay crops in that barn may have had too much moisture in them causing them to combust.
While the bails were pulled out of the barn, he says it's unlikely they'll be usable. He estimates the fire caused about $20,000 in damage.
What sparked the fire is still under investigation.
