Grain bin catches fire near Oran, Mo.

ORAN, Mo. -- Firefighters from several departments worked through the day Monday to battle a grain bin fire near Oran.

A call reporting the fire came in around 9:30 a.m., said Jim Watkins, fire chief in Oran. A 50-foot-tall grain bin on County Road 413, southwest of Oran, that stored soybeans had caught fire.

Watkins said the cause of the fire was believed to be a piece of equipment that fell.

"[The equipment] usually aerates the soybeans," he said. "When that fell, the dryers tried to keep drying the soybeans and since things weren't moving around, the bottom layer just got cooked and eventually caught fire."

The soybeans stored in the bin were a total loss, Watkins said. The bin itself will also require extensive repairs, he said.

Firefighters from several departments responded to the blaze, including New Hamburg, Benton, Commerce, Perkins, Morley, Chaffee, Advance, Bell City, Scott County Rural and the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. They remained on the scene until around 6 p.m. Monday, according to Watkins.

A similar fire occurred in the area earlier this year, Watkins said. "But before that, we've probably not had one for 10 years," he said.