Elberta Fire Department Tackles Grain Bin Fire
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
June 22, 2025
ELBERTA Fla. A grain bin fire Friday turned out to be a bit tricky to get to.
The owners notified the Baldwin County 911 Communications Center at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 20, 2025, that a grain bin located on County Road 83 had a fire on the top of the 125-foot structure and needed the local fire department to respond.
When the Elberta Fire Department arrived, they saw smoke coming from the grain bin but getting to it was no easy task.
The fire turned out to be in an area that was difficult to get to and some parts had to be taken apart to reach the fire.
Firefighters tackled the job, put things back in place, and cleared the scene in less than an hour.
Grain bin fires are common during harvest and often are linked to drying operations. They can occur when previously dry grain becomes wet, leading to organic heating. Key indicators of potential grain fires include unusual heat, moisture, and changes in grain appearance. Effective management involves closing all openings to allow the fire to burn out safely, as demonstrated in various incidents. Additionally, spontaneous combustion can ignite fires in large grain piles, necessitating specialized firefighting techniques.
Sometimes grain bin fires start through spontaneous combustion which is the occurrence of fire without the application of an external heat source. It typically happens when combustible materials, such as hay or coal, self-heat due to chemical, biological, or physical processes, reaching a temperature high enough for ignition to occur.
This process involves self-heating, followed by thermal runaway and autoignition, where the heat generated from internal reactions accelerates to the point of combustion.
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