By Chloe Hill
Mason News staff writer
The fire at Massman Stables was too much for one fire department to handle.
Around 2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 27, Delhi Fire Chief Richard Royston received a call about a barn fire located at 714 Hogsback Road and immediately called the Mason Fire Department for backup.
Location of Massman Stables
“When we got the call, the barn was already engulfed in flames, so we called Mason for manpower and an assist pumper,” Royston said.
The fire was too large for just one department. Mason Police Chief John Stressman said, “when something happens that is too big for one force, we are usually called in to help.” Royston also requested the help of the Ingham County Tanker Task Force, which includes tankers from all of Ingham County and parts of Eaton and Livingston Counties. The Delhi Force received help from eight tankers from six fire departments.
In 2009, the force was called to help with a Delhi incident nine times compared to seven in 2008, according to the last annual report from the Mason Fire Department.
Royston said the fire may have been caused by a hot exhaust pipe on a truck dropped off an hour prior to the fire. When the fire caught, it quickly spread to the entire barn destroying the contents. Massman Stables had nothing but hay and some equipment inside at the time of the fire. No one was hurt.