A seed warehouse went up in flames in Wapella on the property of Evergreen Fertilizer Service on North Chestnut Street.
Crews got the call Monday morning, and when they got there, the fire was covering the entire building, leaving it a total loss.
DeWitt County Sheriff Mike Walker said that a conservation officer was driving by Evergreen FS Monday morning when he saw the smoke. Then, Walker said the conservation officer went to another building to find workers there, and they had no clue there was fire.
Wapella firefighters immediately responded, and Clinton, Randolph, Kenney, and Waynesville followed. Crews were using so much water, they even had to start running water from Clinton, which is about five miles away.
Evergreen FS is a fertilizer service, but the fire wasn’t attached to the main plant.
“It’s a detached pole barn type building. There’s some seed corn in there, a sprayer in there, and just other general stuff, but there was no chemicals inside the building that would pose a threat to the public,” Walker said.
One person who watched it all happen, said that he has never seen anything like it before.
“I just live right across the street here, and woke up this morning to the building on fire. There were multiple explosions and some of the biggest black smoke that I’ve ever seen, probably, and fire departments rushing here trying to get it put out,” Jacob Short said.
Walker added that the cause is under investigation.
When reached for comment, the company’s CEO and general manager, John Tuttle provided the following statement to WCIA:
“Evergreen FS is grateful to the Wapella fire department and the surrounding fire departments that responded promptly and professionally to the scene,” Tuttle said.
