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WARSAW, OH – On Sunday, June 22, 2008, at approximately 9:30 p.m., several phone calls came in to the Coshocton County 911 center and was reporting a large fire upon a hill visible from State Route 36 and near Township Road 28. The 911 center quickly dispatched the Walhonding Valley Fire District (WVFD) to that approximate location.

A Coshocton County Sheriff’s Deputy was first on scene, and reported that a barn was fully engulfed in flames as well as a backhoe on fire. Hearing the report from the Deputy, WVFD Chief Mike Synder asked central dispatch for a second alarm with a request for water tankers. The second alarm call went out to the Jackson Township Fire Department and the Three Rivers Fire District.

Fire units arriving on scene found the barn very well involved in flames and quickly got down to the business of putting out the flames. Firefighters were made aware of two propane tanks that were on the fire ground so that precautions could be taken. After a quick knockdown, the firefighters found that most of the structure was already gone, and a retreat cabin on the backside of the barn was also heavily damaged by the fire. The barn had been used as a storage facility to store many different types of farm implements that were lost in the fire.

A water shuttle operation was put into action as tankers worked their way between the fire scene and a hydrant two to three miles away. When the tankers returned to the scene they were cycled into a relay pumping operation up a long lane to the fire ground.

As firefighters continued hitting the hot spots, portable lighting was brought up the lane to be setup at the back side of the barn near the cabin so that the firefighters could see better while overhauling the cabin.

The firefighters remained on scene for about three hours. The probable cause of the fire was likely lighting from a passing storm.

Assisting on scene was a unit from the Coshocton County EMS, several units from the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Department, and the Salvation Army with cool soft drinks and water for the firefighters.