Firefighters work to extinguish a barn fire late Thursday night at 313 Monroe Road in Buffalo Township. Terry Macurdy, owner of the more than 120-year-old barn, believes the fire was sparked by lightning. Firefighters from eight departments responded to the blaze, which destroyed several hundred bales of hay and farm equipment.

BUFFALO TWP — Farm equipment and several hundred bales of hay were destroyed late Thursday night when a large barn went up in flames.

Terry Macurdy, owner of the more than 120-year-old barn at 313 Monroe Road, believes lightning sparked the fire.

“I saw a lightning flash and heard a boom 30 or 45 minutes before the fire,” he said.

It apparently hit so close that a circuit breaker was tripped in the house, but electrical power was only lost for a second or two.

At 9 p.m., while sitting in his living room, Macurdy noticed flames coming from the two-story barn with a loft.

“The whole wall facing the house was on fire,” he said.

Macurdy called 911 and rushed outside to get a better look at the blaze and see if he could save anything.

He managed to get into the back of the barn and remove two tractors before the fire took control of the entire structure.

“I lost a grain drill and corn picker,” he said, “and 400 bale of hay.”

He suspected the hay helped fuel the initial fire on the front side of the barn.

Firefighters from eight departments got there but too late to save the structure. They sprayed water on Macurdy's house, which sits only 100 feet from the barn, to protect it from the fire.

Macurdy said the original 36- by 52-foot section of the barn was built in 1889. Last fall, he installed a 36- by 40-foot addition.“We got done residing (the addition) just three weeks ago,” he said.A damage estimate was not immediately available. Macurdy said the property is insured.Fire departments called were Buffalo Township, Sarver, Winfield, Saxonburg and Herman in Butler County; South Buffalo and Kittanning No. 6 in Armstrong County; and Harrison Hills in Allegheny County.Fire officials from Buffalo Township and Sarver did not return telephone calls this morning.

A relative uses a backhoe to move as hay bales as firefighters work to extinguish the remnants of a barn on the Macurdy farm at 313 Monroe Rd. in Sarver. Buffalo Chief Matt Cypher Fire said the owners hear lightning strike the barn. Fire departments on the scene included Sarver Buffalo Twp. Winfield Saxonburg Herman South Buffalo Harrison Hills Kittanning #6 and Freeport EMS.