Hay smolders days after Hempfield barn fire, sparks concern for residents

A fire that destroyed a storage barn Saturday afternoon at Westmoreland Equestrian Center in Hempfield left behind a field of hay that is continuing to smolder and smoke, sparking concerns from nearby respiratory-challenged residents.

As of Tuesday, it wasn’t clear how much longer the smoldering may continue at the site along Business Route 66.

Township fire officials say they are monitoring the hay. The property owner said that once his insurance carrier completes its fire investigation, he will be free to try new tactics to quell the smoldering.

About 300 large, tightly packed rolls of hay were inside the barn when the fire broke out at about 3 p.m. Saturday. One of the center owners, Ronald Ray, said an excavator was brought in and “pulled the hay so we could push it out in the field to try to get it away from the building.”

“No matter how much quenching we do, it still tends to smolder,” Hempfield fire Chief Anthony Kovacic said of the hay. “We separated it and we’re keeping an eye on things, but it’s going to smolder for a while.

“When we get wind coming through, we have seen opportunities for it to flare up.”

Firefighters have returned to the site at least once for a rekindle.

“We’ve been over there every day since the fire, numerous times,” Kovacic said.

Ray said Tuesday his insurance carrier told him not to move the hay further for now, but he expects the insurance investigation to be completed within the next few days.

Then, he said, “We’re going to try to take care of it as quick as we can. We’ll probably have to get a big excavator, maybe a bulldozer.”

A resident sent an email to TribLive expressing concern about the impact of the smoke on people with asthma and owners who are worried about having their pets outside in the Fox Ridge neighborhood.

Kovacic said he’s aware of concerns about the smoke.

“If you have issues, you want to stay indoors,” he said.

Ray said the fire destroyed winter hay that would have been used to feed horses that are boarded in another barn at the center.

“I have a little bit of hay down where the horses are,” he said.

Also consumed with the flames were building materials Ray had stored for use at other rental properties — including plywood, drywall, kitchen cabinets, lighting fixtures and plumbing supplies.

“There’s nothing left,” he said of the items that were stored in the barn.

Ray was unable to estimate the value of the loss.

“At least nobody got hurt,” he said.

A state police fire marshal is leading an investigation into the fire’s cause.

Ray said people were present at the center at the time of the fire, but “nobody saw anything until the smoke started coming out.”