Crews from the Schoeneck, Reamstown and Lincoln/Ephrata fire companies respond to a silo fire on a Lancaster County farm in late August. Dry conditions in August resulted in low moisture levels in silage, leading to an increase in silo fires. 

Crews from the Schoeneck, Reamstown and Lincoln/Ephrata fire companies respond to a silo fire on a Lancaster County farm in late August. Dry conditions in August resulted in low moisture levels in silage, leading to an increase in silo fires. 

Dry conditions in parts of Pennsylvania have led to scorched crops in fields and a spike in silo fires after the moisture-starved corn has been chopped for silage.

Eric Rickenbach, a Berks County instructor in silo emergencies, received multiple calls for silo fires during the last week of August as farmers rushed to chop corn before it dried even more.

“These guys are really caught off guard this year,” Rickenbach said. “There’s corn that looks like it could be combined, and it’s being taken off for silage. It’s drying down so fast.”

The majority of the issues have been in northeastern Lancaster County and in southcentral Pennsylvania, he said. From Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, Rickenbach said there were five silo fires — four in Lancaster County and one in Schuylkill County — and in one case, a barn was lost.

Drier than normal silage is the common denominator, but there are other contributing factors.

Drier silage generates more static electricity as it’s blown up a fill pipe, Rickenbach said. The static electricity finds the path of least resistance and often enters the unloading chute of a concrete silo, igniting dust that has accumulated.

Silos equipped with PVC fill pipes tend to generate more static electricity, but the problem can also arise in metal fill pipes.

“Drier material creates more friction as it goes up the fill pipe and creates a static charge,” Rickenbach said. “These dry crops are compounding the situation, and the fires are occurring within 24 hours of filling.”

While farmers can’t control the drought conditions leading to drier corn, there are steps they can take to reduce the risk of a silo fire.

Most silo blowers are equipped with a hose attachment, and Rickenbach said adding water while filling will reduce the static electricity that’s generated. He also advised to run the blower at normal speed but slow down the unloading wagons to reduce friction in the fill pipe.

Rickenbach also recommends consulting a silo service company to discuss the best way to ground the structure, especially the fill pipe.

“It’s not 100%, but even something as simple as a jumper cable on a ground rod will help lessen the chances,” he said.

Although the fires are starting soon after filling a silo, the fire risk can linger for months. Silage chopped at 60% moisture, or less, doesn’t pack as tightly in a silo, allowing for more air in the silo which could cause a fire.

“We could potentially see fires a couple of weeks or months from now in the silage pack,” Rickenbach said. “In a conventional silo, these are extremely difficult fires to fight.”

Dwane Miller, a field and forage crops educator with Penn State Extension, said smaller particles of chopped silage can help.

“Decreasing the particle size to aid in packability will hopefully decrease the air space within the silage. The drier the material, the more air that is trapped,” Miller said. “Better packed silage will allow for less fuel (air) for a potential fire.”

Another risk persists when it comes to silage on the drier side.

Rickenbach said there have been more reports of silo gas, a problem firefighters encountered in Mount Aetna, Berks County. When that fire was extinguished, gas was visible at the top of the silo.

Silo gas isn’t flammable, but it’s extremely toxic.

“When corn dries out too fast, more nitrates are trapped in the plant. During the fermentation process it starts to release as nitrogen dioxide, which is visible as an orange-brown gas,” Rickenbach said.

One way to reduce the risk of silo gas is to increase the cutting height in the field, Miller said. Most of the nitrates accumulate in the bottom portion of the stalk, so cutting higher should reduce the potential for gas.

Rickenbach, who assists emergency responders with silo incidents, hopes recent rainfall will lessen the occurrence of silo fires during filling. Even if that happens, moisture in corn is still impacted by the drought conditions, so farmers need to keep the risks in mind.

“Since these fires are occurring within 24 hours of filling, it’s a real dangerous time because the silo is producing gas as well.” Rickenbach said. “If my phone’s not ringing, silos aren’t burning and that’s a good thing.

For more information on how to prevent or handle silo fires, contact Rickenbach via email at info@rescuetechs.com.

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A smoldering silo exploded July 24 in Lycoming County, sending sections of the roof hundreds of feet away, according to reports.

Spotty rainfall throughout much of Pennsylvania is forcing farmers to make some difficult decisions with their silage harvest.

Tom Venesky is a staff reporter for Lancaster Farming. He can be reached at tvenesky@lancasterfarming.com

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