According to Greene County Sheriff’s report, at 12:27pm on Monday, the Scranton and Jefferson fire departments and the sheriff’s office responded to a hay bailer fire at 270th Street between H and I Avenues near Scranton.

Sheriff Steve Haupert says farmer Mark Naberhaus was finishing up bailing hay with his 1,500 bailer when he noticed smoke coming from the bailer.  Sheriff Haupert states that a bearing in the shift gave out, igniting loose hay and caught the bailer belt on fire.

He comments that because of the quick response by the fire departments, nothing else was damaged other than the bailer.

“They were there very quickly.  It was 20 minutes from the time he (Naberhaus) called to the time the first truck arrived, that’s quite a distance down there.  So, it was a pretty rapid response.”

Sheriff Haupert notes that no one was injured in the fire and the bailer is estimated to be a total loss.