A routine trip to a field south of Kamsack to do some spring baling ended in a near tragedy on May 9 for a local farmer.
A baler owned by Paul and June Chernoff caught fire in the field around three miles south of Kamsack, and was engulfed in flames. 鈥淚t was lucky the fire was contained and didn鈥檛 spread, and no one was injured in the incident,鈥 Paul said.
鈥淭he individual who was operating the tractor at the time noticed smoke coming from the baler at one point when it was time to eject a bale, and reacted quickly by pulling the pin and driving the tractor away just in time before flames shot out and the baler was a flaming ball.
鈥淭he Kamsack Fire Department attended the scene and was able to keep the blaze from spreading too far.鈥
The baler had been thoroughly inspected and fully serviced prior to 小蓝视频 sent out in the field, Paul said. Unfortunately, the John Deere 567 round baler with net wrap is a total loss.
The Chernoff鈥檚 believe the fire was caused when the baler picked up a foreign object, most likely a rock, which jammed the pick-up and caused heat build-up and the resultant fire.
鈥淭he conditions in the area are very dry right now,鈥 Paul said. 鈥 It doesn鈥檛 take much to spark a blaze under these conditions,鈥 he stated, saying that this incident is a real 鈥渉eads-up鈥 to other farmer鈥檚 in the area right now doing field work, adding extra caution might be needed while working in such dry conditions.
The Chernoff鈥檚 are very grateful that no one was injured in the incident and that the fire was contained.