Fire Destroys Cattle Shed, Kills 60 Head

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Published on October 10 2016 10:46 am
Last Updated on October 11 2016 7:26 am
Written by Greg Sapp

A fire north of Stewardson Sunday morning destroyed a large cattle shed and killed about 60 head of cattle.

Stewardson Fire Chief Troy Agney said they were called to the Dean Probst farm along Illinois Route 32 south of Stewardson-Strasburg High School at 8:56am Sunday. Agney said it's believed the fire started in the office area of the cattle shed and might have been caused by the water heater although nothing has been finalized. He said the fire moved quickly; 17 minutes after the fire call, the shed was on the ground. While 60 head of cattle are believed to have perished, crews were working Monday to get an exact count.

Firefighters from eight fire companies were called to the scene: Stewardson, Shumway, Strasburg, Windsor, Shelbyville, Cowden, Sigel and Beecher City Tri-County. Fire crews made runs to Stewardson and Windsor for additional water.

Agney said fire crews cleared the scene at 11:36am, but were back two hours later to handle hot spots, and then were called out again early Monday morning for more hot spots. No firefighters were injured.