No injuries from two-alarm fire at Scott City grain facility

Local fire departments responded to a two-alarm fire at Midwest Grain and Barge late Tuesday morning in Scott City, where a blaze began in an electrical building near a loading area and spread up grain elevators.

Scott City fire chief Trent August said firefighters responded to a 10:46 a.m. call at 179 Rushing Road and discovered a large working fire, which was determined to have originated from an electrical control room behind a set of silos.

At about 11 a.m., a second alarm was called to bring in mutual aid from the Cape Girardeau and Chaffee fire departments and Gordonville, Scott County Rural Protection and NBC Fire districts, according to August.

“It was a large fire,” August said. “It was basically a structure fire next to the silos.”

After igniting in the electrical control room, August said the fire burned through an awning in an adjacent loading area where tractor-trailers deposit product to be transferred into the silo.

Members of the Scott City Fire Department battle flames during a two-alarm fire Wednesday at Midwest Grain and Barge in Scott City.BEN MATTHEWS

Next, August said, “the heat and smoke traveled vertical, up the shafts in the elevators that haul the grain up.”

As additional fire crews provided aid containing the fire near the grain silo, a Cape Girardeau team at the front of the silo targeted a junction point in the grain elevators about 100-feet in the air.

Smoke damage affected soybeans and silo 1, according to August, and other damages included metal structures near the silos, which began to warp and fail because of heat. Additional losses included soybean product damaged in a smoke-filled elevator.

No one was injured.

“Upon inspection, there was no fire actually in the silo but there was heat and smoke,” August said. “The next thing for [Midwest Grain and Barge] to do is they’re supposed to be dumping the silo and emptying it out to see what’s salvageable.”

Ameren Missouri trucks responded to the scene to turn off power at the affected sites, and a complete assessment of damages has not been released.

“We had a good turnout,” August said of the fire crews’ response times. “Everybody worked hard and got the job done.”