Id Learn Why Water Starts Farm Fires
Water, usually a first aid in fighting fire, may on occasion help to kindle fire, During the recent floods in Vermont, farmers appealed to the State College of Agriculture for advice on how to prevent fires arising from spontaneous ignition— more commonly called "spontaneous combustion”—of bay stored in barns and wet down by flood waters. One dairy barn was destroyed by fire so caused. Other farmers found it necessary to stand guard with more water in case the hay in their barns heated to the kindling jaunt, and some removed the hay from the tarns to give it a chance to dry out.
These experiences represent a specialized phase of a larger problem now under investigation by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils and workers from other bureaus in the United States Department of Agriculture. A more general phase is the spontaneous ignition of stored products, include dairy feeds, molasses feeds, oil cakes, sugar cane bagasse, and other agricultural products as well as hay. The general problem is the chemical action or bacterial action that results in the destruction, deterioration, or discoloration of stored products, the damages from which may be severe even though it does not cause spontaneous ignition.
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