Fire levels barn in Clinton
CLINTON TWP — Ted Tomson can be excused for being a little paranoid these days.
For the second time in 14 months, a barn was destroyed by fire Saturday at the Stark Road farm where he breeds racing horses.
“Do I think it's suspicious? Yeah,” said Tomson, who lives in Natrona Heights, Allegheny County,
But he doesn't know if someone is to blame.
“If I did,” he said, “I'd go after them and ask, 'What's up?'”
The latest fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. at Tomson's 140-acre farm.
The farm is part of his family business, TSM Racing, which breeds and races horses for events at the Meadows in Washington County and Pocono Downs in Luzerne County.
Saxonburg firefighters found the fire after being called out for a report of unknown smoke coming from nearby Goldscheitter Road.
“The barn was already collapsed and burning when the first engine got there,” said Chief Chris Ballina of the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company.
The barn — a one-story pole building equipped with electrical power — is used to store hay and oats for the horses. Tomson said he feeds his 20 horses there, too.
“I was there (Saturday) and fed them at 10 a.m I left at 10:15 a.m., he said. “I didn't smell any smoke and I didn't turn anything on.”
Dozens of firefighters from 15 departments answered the call. Manpower was imperative due to the sweltering temperatures that reached into the high 90s.
“The guys rotated as many men in and out as they could,” Ballina said. “The conditions were rough on them.”
Because there are no hydrants in the area, a tanker shuttle was deployed using water from a pond on the farm.
The Sarver Volunteer Fire Department's aerial truck also proved invaluable, fire officials said.
No injuries were reported and none of the horses were harmed, either.The fire, however, leveled the barn and caused minor damage to a nearby silo.The relatively new barn was rebuilt for $30,000 after it was destroyed in a fire on May 12, 2011.Along with hay, a skid loader, wagon and some other farm equipment also were lost in that fire.The state police fire marshal's office was unable to find a cause of last year's blaze because of the extensive damage. But the fire was not believed to be suspicious.Saturday's fire also was not considered to be suspicious, said Ballina, who noted that there was no insurance on the barn.Fire officials could only speculate that round bales of hay stored in the barn got too hot and may have spontaneously ignited.Tomson admitted the barn was not insured when it burned the first time. He didn't bother with insurance afterward, either.“Too expensive,” he said.The owner of a scrap yard in Natrona with plans to build a restaurant in the same area, Tomson said he will again rebuild — with some modifications — at his farm.He said he would build two structures — one solely for storage and the other to feed his horses.
