A silo at the Brett Bowes farm on Nippenose Road, just outside Antes Fort, exploded about 1:15 p.m. Sunday. No one was injured. The silo was less than half full of grain at the time, officials said. The explosion shook nearby properties. PHIL HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
ANTES FORT – No one was injured when a 100-foot high silo at the Brett Bowes farm on Nippenose Road exploded on Sunday afternoon, sending sections of the top of the structure flying through the air.
“There was an explosion and the whole house shook,” John Dougherty, a resident of Castania, said as he stood outside his father’s home, just two doors away from the farm. “Heavy smoke was coming out of the silo,” said Dougherty, who was visiting at the time.
More than half a dozen volunteer fire companies, along with Tiadaghton Valley Regional police, rushed to the scene about 1:15 p.m. The farm is located just outside this community.
“As we pulled up to the scene, we could see that the top of the silo was missing and light smoke was coming out of the silo,” Tiadaghton Valley Regional police Sgt. Michael Crawford, one of the first to arrive at the farm, said.
“It could have been a lot worse. It’s our understanding that no one was here at the time. All these pieces of the silo that were everywhere, nobody got hit with anything, very fortunate,” Crawford told a reporter as firefighters were working to put out the fire.
An Avis firefighter, not visible in photo, reportedly collapsed from heat exhaustion while working on the top of the fire company’s aerial ladder truck. Another firemen, shown on ladder, immediately went to his aid. The ladder was quickly lowered to the ground, where other firefighters assisted the man off the apparatus. He was treated at the scene reportedly for heat exhaustion. PHIL HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
In sweltering heat, firemen worked for more than two hours to douse the fire, which was contained to the silo, which reportedly was only a third full of grain, according to fire officials.
Two aerial ladders were used, one from Jersey Shore and another from Avis, to reach the top of the silo. Shortly after 2 p.m. a firefighter with an air pack who had been working on the top of the extended Avis ladder truck for several minutes was suddenly overcome by heat and could not climb down. A second firefighter immediately went to him as the ladder was quickly lowered to the ground, where additional firefighters rushed to the man’s aid. He was treated at the scene, officials said.
Tankers shuttled water to the scene from a fire hydrant at Front and Smith streets in Jersey Shore. With the temperature inching closer and closer to 100 degrees by the hour, several cases of water and other refreshments were brought to the scene to keep the firefighters hydrated. A small tent was put up in a nearby field, where exhausted firefighters could get refreshed.
The cause of the explosion remained under investigation.
Firefighters from here, Jersey Shore, Nippenose Valley, Woodward Township, Avis and Woolrich respond to the fire. Fire apparatus from Montoursville and Lock Haven stood by in Jersey Shore to handle any other emergency calls in the area.
The explosion sent sections of the silo flying through the air. One piece landed in a nearby field. PHIL HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Firefighters had to cope with sweltering heat as the temperature inched its way closer and closer to 100 degrees by the hour. Several cases of water and other refreshments, were brought to the scene.
A volunteer firefighter carries an air pack at the scene of silo explosion outside Antes Fort. PHIL HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
The explosion sent sections of the silo flying through the air. One piece landed in a nearby field. PHIL HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Two aerial ladder trucks, one from Jersey Shore and another from Avis, were used at the scene. The cause of the explosion remained under investigation. PHIL HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Article Source: https://www.sungazette.com/uncategorized/2022/07/no-injuries-in-silo-explosion-near-antes-fort/