KALONA

It took more than one village to extinguish a barn fire in rural Kalona on Saturday, but area firefighters got the job done without damage to adjacent structures. About 2 p.m., Kalona Fire responded to a call at 4805 Hazelwood Avenue in rural Kalona, where the hay mow of a cattle barn had caught fire. When firefighters arrived, there was heavy smoke and flames showing on the second floor, and the animals had already been removed.

“We made a very aggressive interior attack, got a lot of water where we needed it,” Fire Chief Jerry Zahradnek said. “Things worked really well.”

Wellman and Riverside fire departments were on their way to provide mutual aid, but “we realized very quickly that wasn’t going to be enough,” Zahradnek said, and Hills, Tiffin, Oxford, Lone Tree, North Liberty, and Washington fire departments were paged to provide “a little bit more manpower.”

The firefighters cut holes in the roof to release smoke, and Gingerich Tiling arrived with an excavator to open things up further so those on the scene could use pitch forks and shovels to toss out the hay bales. Folks showed up with skid loaders to aid in the process.

Extinguishing the fire completely took a ton of water. 446 tons, actually.

“We put over 100,000 gallons of water in it,” Zahradnek said. “We were trying to cool the hay mow as much as possible. The rafters are all charred. That probably saved us as much as anything. The tin kept the building standing.”

Many folks observed pumper tankers traveling up and down Highway 1 all afternoon, refilling with water in Iowa City and Kalona until evening. It wasn’t until 11:30 p.m. or so that all hot spots had been resolved and the firefighters could leave the scene.

“It was a long day,” the fire chief confirmed.

A long day, but also a successful one. When dealing with a wood structure filled with hay, things don’t always go as desired, but on Feb. 22, they did.

“Sometimes things go right,” Zahradnek said. “Good training, a little bit of luck, God’s will. Things went pretty good.”

Although fire damage was extensive and the barn will need to be rebuilt, “from the hay mow down, the milking parlor and everything in there is all still intact,” Zahradnek said. “[The farmer] was able to milk cows at the barn the next morning.”

Fifty firefighters and 19 trucks from nine fire departments helped extinguish the blaze. Kalona First Responders, Johnson County Ambulance, and more were on the scene, ensuring everyone stayed hydrated, fed, and took breaks as needed. The property owners provided sandwiches, cookies and coffee; the neighbors opened their garage as a staging area.

“Things don’t always work that well, but things worked well on Saturday,” Zahradnek said.