Friday fire levels barn in Cranberry
CRANBERRY TWP — A barn burned down on Franklin Road Friday afternoon.
The fire started shortly after 4 p.m., burning hay, materials and the barn at the Croft farm at 7365 Franklin Road.
The smoke was visible from Route 19.
Cranberry fire and safety crews closed the road from its intersection with Peters Road to its intersection with Rowan and Hope Roads.
“Nobody was hurt. That’s the big thing,” public safety director Jeff Schueler said.
Fire crews used a nearby hydrant to combat the flames in freezing, windy conditions. Penn Power also came to disconnect the electric service to the barn to eliminate a risk to the firefighters.
The fire was mostly extinguished by 5 p.m. with some hay still burning. A backhoe and skid-steer were used to break up debris.
“There’s nothing left,” Schueler said.
No animals were in the barn. Cows in an adjacent milk barn were evacuated from the area and unharmed.
“I don’t know how that will affect their operations,” Schueler said of the barn being reduced to rubble.
No cause has been determined for the fire.
“There was excellent response,” Schueler said of emergency crews’ work in extinguishing Friday’s blaze.
Franklin Road was reopened later in the evening.
Adams Area Fire District, Callery Volunteer Fire Company and the Harmony Fire District were also there as was Cranberry EMS and police.
This is the second fire in eight days on Franklin Road. Another blaze burned the second floor of a home on Jan. 14. No injuries were reported at that fire.
