Firefighters Investigate Heated Grain Bin at Illinois Feed Mill

Build up of heat in one of the grain bin storage hoppers at the South Central FS Watson Feed Mill, Effingham, IL, required the manpower of several area fire departments Friday afternoon, reports theEffingham Daily News.

Watson Assistant Fire Chief Travis Buhnerkempe said some product was lost when one hopper storing corn pellets overheated. The smoldering product and moisture caused it to become caked together, which had to be removed manually.

He suspects the cause of the problem came from some maintenance work done two days prior and that possibly was the source of heat that started the smoldering.