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108 hay bales lost in Thiele Farm fire Thursday night

A fire at Thiele Dairy Farm in Cabot late Thursday night, June 29, burned the hay hoop, which is located next to the cow barn. Thiele Dairy Farm/Submitted Photo

Spontaneous combustion is believed to be the cause of a fire at Thiele Dairy Farm that burned 108 hay bales and a small structure late Thursday, June 29.

“When you pack that hay tight with a baler, it can eventually mold and spontaneously combust,” said William Thiele, owner of the farm in Jefferson Township.

Crews fought the blaze for several hours, arriving on scene around midnight and leaving around 4:30 a.m. Friday, June 30, according to Chris Dean, chief of Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company.

The bales were packed inside a 50-by-30-foot structure covered with a tarp-like fabric, called a hay hoop, Thiele said. Only the metal frame of the structure remains.

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