PUTNAM COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - It was a busy start to the day for fire crews in Putnam County after battling a barn fire that led to cattle on the run.
The call came in just after 2 a.m. Thursday morning of a barn fire in the 14000 block of Road 22, between Ottoville and Cloverdale. Mutual aid was called in from Kalida and Fort Jennings, and Continental responded with additional water and manpower. The farmers got most of the cattle out of the burning building, but the cattle ran off up to a mile from the scene. A drone with thermal imaging assisted in the search for missing cattle, along with nearby farmers who corralled most of the estimated 190 loose cows back to the farm before daybreak.
"The farm did suffer a couple losses of livestock. Very minimal for what it was, but they still suffered that. Unfortunately, the farm's milking parlor was a total loss along with part of their free stall barns," stated Derek Ricker, chief of the Ottoville Fire Department.
Crews spent nearly six hours on the scene to fight the remaining hot spots. The assessment is ongoing to determine how much cattle were lost and what caused the fire.
