Alden Township barn fire causes $450K in damages, officials say

A pole barn fire at a farm early Saturday morning in rural Alden Township caused an estimated $450,000 in damages, officials said.

The Hebron Alden Greenwood Fire Protection District responded to the fire at 4:46 a.m. on the 14100 block of Durkee Road, Harvard, according to a news release.

Fire departments from Richmond, Wonder Lake, Spring Grove, Harvard, and Woodstock gave automatic assistance, according to the release.

When fire crews arrived, the found a large pole barn with heavy fire through the building’s roof, and there was direct exposure to a very large propane tank.

The fire was upgraded to a 3rd alarm on the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System because of the size of the building and the exposure to the propane tank. Crews from Marengo, Union, Crystal Lake, Boone District 1-Capron Fire, Capron Rescue, Huntley, Nunda and Fox Lake along with units from Walworth, Bloomfield, city of Delavan, city of Lake Geneva, Salem Lakes, Darien, town of Lyons, town of Delavan and Williams Bay, Wisconsin, also responded, according to the release. McHenry fire crews stood by at the Hebron Fire station to cover calls in Hebron.

Firefighters got the fire under control by 6 a.m. and contained to the large shed. There was no damage to the large propane tank.

Crews were on scene until 10 a.m. watching hot spots.

The Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Department and the McHenry County Sheriff’s office are investigating the fire, but it appears to be accidental, according to the release.