July 27 day fire results in barn loss to Town of Thorp family

“My tractor started on fire,” Symbal said of the machine parked between the barn and three silos to the south. “That’s how it happened.” Symbal, a third-generation farmer at W11407 Elm Road just down from St. Mary’s Czestochowa in the Junction area northeast of Stanley, took over the farm from his parents Ted and Bernice Symbal, who had taken the farm over from his grandparents Mike and Anna Symbal, who came over from Poland similar to many other farmers in the area.

The land on which the farm now stands was pur-

See BARN LOSS, Page 2

The view from just past Chestochowa, using a camera with zoom lens.

The road in front, with fire department and other

responders present.

The view from Fernwall Avenue, with the full extent of destruction coming into view.

FROM PAGE 1 chased from the Northwestern Lumber Company prior to being cleared for farming. The oldest part of the barn dates from 1917 or 1918, while a nearby brick house replaced a log cabin structure as of 1937. As it stands, no other structure outside the barn was lost July 27, something Symbal attributed in part to the amount of water, as both the wind and a nearby gas tank made things dangerous.

“There was water running out of both ends of the barn,” Symbal said. “That’s how much they sprayed in.” With the concrete block walls still standing, “As far as a plan we’re going to rebuild,” he said, “I’m third-generation, so it’s hard to see that go.” Whereas there is no fundraiser at present, insurance will be coming to assess the structure, he said. Nevertheless, some parts of the barn might not be salvageable, although this will ultimately depend on a building inspector’s assessment.

“We’re not sure we can save the foundation on the east end,” Symbal said of the younger portion of the barn that dates from the 1960s where the fire burned its hottest. Walking through the inside of the younger portion on Sunday, the sky was visible through the burned-out floor of the haymow. Further to the west and the older portion of the barn, meanwhile, the haymow floor remained intact, though there was still significant damage to be seen. Symbal said he wants to save as much as can be saved of the century-old structure, and that rebuilding was in the couple’s plans.

As to the fire and cleanup, Symbal said that local neighbors had been a great help, especially with clean up on Friday after the fire Tuesday afternoon.

“We cleaned up the inside of the barn, the whole works,”he said. “It was ash across everything.” As to thank yous, there are many.

“It’s hard to thank everyone,” he said of the sheer number of those who showed up during and after the fire to help out. “It makes you see that you really do have good people left.” Symbal said that his milkman was the first on the scene, and helped to get the majority of the cattle out, though seven were lost in the fire. As to numbers, seven out of a herd of 47 were lost in the fire, the cows being in the barn at the time and some running back in as they were being led out, not realizing just what was happening. Symbal’s wife Mindi shared detailed help and aid from a neighbor who did realize, but braved the danger anyway.

“He ran into a burning barn to help a neighbor he’s never met,” she said of someone down the road who came to help. Three other neighbors also came to help and ran into the barn as well, she said. The top of the barn (though now gone) was filled with hay at the time, adding to the danger and heroism. The fire saw response from eight departments total, with the fire noticed “about 12:30” according to Mindi, having burned for an estimated 10 to 15 minutes at the time of discovery. Once discovered, the Elm Road fire saw a response in part from Thorp, Stanley, Boyd, Cadott, Gilman, Owen, Loyal, and Greenwood, to put together the accounts of the Stanley and Thorp Fire Chief. Speaking of which, Thorp Fire Chief Paul Skibbie had more to add on the fire details.

“It came in as a tractor fire,” he said of the blaze just down from St. Mary’s. “But en route they said a fully engulfed barn fire.” That was when Fire Chief Skibbie decided to call in the cavalry, getting a full response from Stanley, with tender (water truck) and other mutual aid from surrounding departments. In all, Skibbie said eight departments responded, while Thorp and Stanley stayed on scene throughout the fire response, for a total approximating six hours at the site.

“On tenders we went down to box 3,” Skibbie said of the “MAVIS” dispatch system meant to streamline communication and save precious response time. On non-water trucks the mutual aid call went down to box 1, The Thorp Fire Chief said.

The Thorp Area Fire District covers the City of Thorp along with the Town of Thorp outside those parts annexed to Stanley. In addition, the Thorp Area Fire District also covers the townships of Withee, Worden, Reseburg, Butler, and Roosevelt, plus the Village of Lublin. As to the Stanley department’s response to Elm Road, Stanley Fire Chief Korey Hagenson said it was a full response alongside that of Thorp.

“Usually when they call ‘full response’ they want all of our trucks and all of our guys,” Hagenson shared of the fire dispatch protocol. One engine and water tender were kept at the Stanley department to cover the Stanley fire coverage area while they were responding to Elm Road, Hagenson said.

As to where the water to put out the Symbal’s barn fire came from, Hagenson said that the department had “one filtrate set up by Courtesy Truck and Auto,” while another came from a pond on the nearby Ciolkosz property located east of the Symbal farm. Still being tabulated as to exact figures on Sunday, Hagenson wasn’t certain on the amount of water the fire had required.

“Tomorrow I have to figure out how many loads we used,” he said, having been in charge of where and when the water was applied to the Symbal’s barn. So just what is it about water that works to put the fire out, or why exactly? For that, we called up Boyd-Edson-Delmar Fire Chief Ron Patten, who shared some of the chemistry involved.

“It’s a couple of things,” Patten said of the standard fire response material and why it’s used. Apart from a grease fire (which should be smothered instead, as throwing water on grease will make it float), water is the chemical compound to put out fire—and that’s not a coincidence.

“First of all, it cools it down,” Patten said of using water to put out fire. All fires need three things to continue, these being heat, air, and fuel. Cooling the fire down, takes away heat. Only one of the trio of heat, air, and fuel needs to be removed to put out a fire, but water does more than this.

“Second, it causes steam, which takes the air away,” Patten said of putting out a fire. Now that the fire is out meanwhile, what are the rebuilding plans for the century farm at W11407 Elm Road in the Town of Thorp?

“My plans are to keep as much of the foundation as possible, as much of the original as I can,” Tom Symbal said Sunday of the barn. As to the milking herd, all was not lost.

“My young stock I still have,” Symbal said of the cows at a neioghbor’s farm for now. A building inspector will have to appraise the foundation on the east end, where the fire did its worst. Cracked and broken windows of the block style were visible Sunday.

“All I want is my barn back,” Tom Symbal says of a fire that he and wife Mindi suffered on July 27. “And my cows.”

With the milk tank to the north side still intact, rebuilding is a work still to be done.

Tom and Mindi Symbal outside the east end of their barn on Elm Road following a fire July 27. Cracked windows show the

intensity of the heat. They plan to rebuild once insurance appraises the site. Photo by Joseph Back.

The east end of the Symbal barn prior to cleanup. Photo courtesy Tom and Mindi Symbal.

The Symbal barn as seen from the north after cleanup, with the older portion of the barn to the right. Left inset: the burned-

out tractor that caused the fire; center inset, where the tractor was parked; right inset, the 100-year old end of the barn after

cleanup. Photos by Joseph Back.

The milkhouse after the fire and prior to cleanup. Photo courtesy Tom and Mindi Symbal.