KMAland firefighters battle brush fires over the weekend

(Coin) -- Firefighters from a host of KMAland departments were busy battling brush fires over the weekend.

Firefighters from multiple KMAland departments were kept busy over the weekend battling brush fires.

Departments from Shenandoah, Clarinda, Essex, College Springs, Westboro and Tarkio assisted Coin’s firefighters in battling a bean field fire late Saturday afternoon. According to the Shenandoah Fire Department’s Facebook page, numerous farmers with disks also helped battle the fire. Fire officials also credit PageComm for quickly dispatching resources and handling large amounts of radio traffic, and Montgomery County Emergency Management for using its drone to inspect hot spots and provide an overview of conditions.

Fire officials are again reminding residents that the ongoing drought is making conditions ripe for field fires. In a recent interview with KMA News, Shenandoah Fire Chief Justin Marshall advised producers to clean and inspect their equipment.

“Obviously, keep your combine or combines cleaned out on a regular basis,” Marshall said, “especially now with the hot, dry conditions. It’s always good, anyway for routine maintenance. Check your bearings, check all of your moving parts before and after you’re done.”

Marshall advises against any unnecessary burning.

“Obviously, don’t be welding or using a torch on a piece of broken down equipment if you don’t have to,” he said. “Keep some water around if you have to do an infield repair, or something like that. It’s just a tinderbox out there right now, and it’s not going to take much to get one going.”

Above all, the chief says safety is the main consideration.

“We don’t want anybody to get hurt–that’s the big, big thing,” Marshall said. “But, also, we don’t want somebody losing equipment–very expensive equipment, or somebody losing a commodity–either corn or soybeans.”

He also reminds farmers who must burn to notify their local authorities. Anyone who must burn should contact PageComm at 712-542-5193 or Shenandoah’s Fire Department at 712-246-2300, or your local sheriff’s office or fire department.