Harvest is underway which means not only will there be more heavy machinery moving around the roadways, but there is an increased chance of field fires as well.

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Tuesday afternoon the Sumner Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call for a combine fire. Firefighters arrived at the call in a field at 2962 185th St to find a combine that was partly engulfed in flames.

According to a Facebook post from the Department, the combine operator had attempted to control the fire by using a small fire extinguisher but wasn’t able to control the flames.

The firefighters were able to take the fire out, however, the combine is considered a lost cause.  Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident.

The cause of the fire could not be determined.

Sumner Emergency Medical Services, Inc. assisted the fire department at the scene

Earlier in the week, I met with Brian Dougherty, a Field Ag Engineer with Iowa State Extension and Outreach about potential dangers that come up with harvest season. One tip Dougherty gave if a fire was to happen which the combine operator in this instance did follow is to be sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand.

We do have fires every year so want to make sure that they're they've got fire extinguishers on board and are prepared for that.

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