Farmer’s Quick Action Saves Tractor But Not the Baler

A hay baler caught fire in Mullins Prairie Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 8.

The fire started around 3 p.m. The blaze spread to the field and burned about five acres and two freshly cut bales before firefighters brought it under control.

The property owner, Joe Kruppa, was operating the tractor and baler when it caught fire. Kruppa told the Record he was almost done baling the field when he looked back and noticed some flames coming from the baler.

Kruppa jumped out of the tractor, unhooked the John Deere baler and drove away before the flames spread to his John Deere tractor.

“It’s a good thing the pin came out of the hitch real easy,” he said.

Kruppa said he tried putting out the grass fire by driving over the flames with the large tractor tires, but he got worried about the tires catching fire and gave up on that idea.

La Grange Volunteer Fire Department arrived and began attacking the grass fire. A brisk south wind fanned the flames towards a neighboring pasture with dozens of bales of recently-cut hay and several parked tractors and pieces of equipment. Firefighters put out the grass fire before it jumped the fence.

The La Grange firemen then turned their efforts to the baler, which was a complete loss. Two bales of hay also caught fire and burned in the field. Kruppa said his baler was insured.

La Grange VFD responded with three grass trucks, a tanker, command vehicle and eight personnel. They left the scene around 4:14 p.m. Around 6:30 p.m., a call came in reporting the fire had rekindled.

“With the wind we had, that one round bale flared back up,” said La Grange Fire Chief Frank Menefee. “They’re hard to put out.”

Firefighters extinguished the bale and returned to the station around 7:14 p.m.