MONT ALTO, Pa. -- Smoke continued to roll off straw and the remains of a dairy barn Tuesday, hours after an overnight fire destroyed the structure and an adjacent garage in Quincy Township, Pa.
Firefighters reported seeing balls of fire burst into the air as high as the nearby Hess water tank when propane tanks exploded. Those explosions threw roof beams and other debris across Barkdoll Lane, where the Rodes dairy farm lines half of the road.
Firetrucks blocked Slabtown Road as they carried 180,000 gallons of water from the Borough of Mont Alto to the scene.
Mont Alto Fire Chief Dan Reed said almost every fire company in Franklin County, Pa., was called for assistance, as well as several from Washington County and Cumberland County, Pa. They were notified of the fire at 11 p.m. Monday and stayed on the scene for four hours.
"When the initial units arrived on the scene, the barn was fully engulfed," Reed said.