Firefighters battled a blaze for just over an hour at a farm equipment dealership in Caldwell County. Princeton Fire Chief Brent Francis says that crews were dispatched to reports of a fire in an outbuilding at Hutson Ag John Deere just after noon on Thursday. Once on the scene firefighters found smoke and flames coming from the lawn mower repair shop.
Chief Francis adds the blaze was contained and neutralized in just over an hour. He praised employees at Hutson for helping keep the situation from getting worse saying that they kept the building closed and starved of oxygen as they waited for crews to respond. This kept the fire from growing and expanding to neighboring buildings, including gas tanks which are stored near the repair shop.
Chief Francis notes that the building suffered extreme structural damage and everything within the building was considered a total loss, including lawnmowers, chainsaws, and other smaller power tools. The estimated cost of damage is expected to be between $100,000 and $125,000. He did mention that the main tractor repair shop was not affected by the blaze.
No one was in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
Chief Francis says that the fire started around a work table but the cause is still under investigation.
(Story By Audrey Lamb/wpkyonline.com)
