Fire destroyed 61 cotton modules and a semi-truck Saturday at the Southern Kansas Cotton Growers gin near Winfield, fire officials said.
Total damage done by the fire was estimated to be in excess of $340,000, Lt. Chad Mayberry, of the Winfield Fire Dept., said. Gin personnel remained at the scene throughout the night to monitor the smoldering remains of the blaze.
The fire was reported around 1:40 p.m when workers at the gin ? located at 19493 51st Rd. ? noticed a module brought in from a field was smoldering. An attempt was made to move that module away from others but several more in an outdoor storage area had begun to burn as well, Mayberry said.
When firefighters arrived there was little chance to extinguish the fire.
"It was just burning too hot, there was too much fire and not nearly enough of a supply of water to try to put it out," Mayberry said.
In those situations, he said, firefighters standby to monitor the blaze and make sure it does not burn out of control.
The modules that burned were being stored in a row and were not inside a building at the time of the incident. Value of the cotton lost is approximately $275,000. The Peterbilt truck was valued at $70,000.
