Staff report
A cattle farmer’s effort to protect his barn from rusting went terribly awry, with a fire destroying the building and its contents.
Six fire departments battled the fire Monday afternoon at the David Corriher property at 3640 Brown Road.
John Morrison, chief of the West Rowan Volunteer Fire Department, said Corriher had hired a company that sprays metal roofs and sidings of barns and sheds to prevent rust.
“I don’t know what they mixed with the paint; whatever it was, it was pretty flammable,” Morrison said.
Just as the crew began spraying, the spray hit an electric fence running from the barn around a nearby pasture.
“They hit the fence, it arced and ran in on the hay,” Morrison said.
The fire spread quickly to an estimated 50 large, round bales of hay stored in the building.
Around 45 firefighters from West Rowan, Atwell, Locke and Cleveland, along with Wayside and Shepherds from Iredell County, worked to put out the fire.
The firefighters brought in a track hoe to spread the hay out, making it easier to extinguish.
The barn, including some cattle-handling equipment and Corriher’s entire stock of winter hay, was destroyed.
The paint crew told Corriher the company they work for had insurance.
Morrison, a veteran of nearly 30 years at West Rowan, said this type of fire is new to his department.
“Bostian Heights had the same deal nearly a decade ago,” he said.
Morrison encouraged anyone using contractors or trying to apply a spray treatment to make sure electric fences are turned off.