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Posted on Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 5:50 a.m.

Man receives minor burns after hay wagon fire spreads near Chelsea

By Heidi Fenton

A man hauling hay Thursday night suffered burns when his wagon caught fire and eventually spread to nearly two acres of land in Lyndon Township, a Chelsea fire captain said.

Capt. Augustine Syrovy said the fire was reported just after 6 p.m. A man was on a tractor pulling a wagon full of hay when the hay caught fire and began to fall off as he traveled near the intersection of Farnsworth and Jacox Roads.

The driver eventually turned around to find the hay was in flames, and he jumped down. As he attempted to disconnect the tractor, his arm was burned, Syrovy said.

Firefighters arrived to find the wagon fully engulfed in flames. Fire had spread to the grass nearby.

Syrovy said the land was private property, and other than the wagon and a small shed, there was no further property damage. He was not sure what caused the hay to ignite.

Chelsea firefighters remained on the scene until just after 8 p.m. and were assisted by the Stockbridge and Unadilla departments.

Heidi Fenton covers police and courts for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heidifenton@annarbor.com or 734-623-4673. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.


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Comments

Rich Rezler

Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 1:59 p.m.

This story was updated to fix a typo.

Elaine F. Owsley

Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:10 p.m.

As dry as that hay must have been, it wouldn't take much. In the horse-drawn wagon days, not a problem.

clownfish

Fri, Jul 15, 2011 : 12:40 p.m.

Unless the farmer smoked behind the horse.