Miller Orchards barn in Brownhelm Township catches fire

BROWNHELM TWP. — A barn at the Miller Orchards property on Vermilion Road burned Tuesday evening, causing extensive damage but not spreading to two adjacent buildings. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze before the flames could spread to a home to the south or a red seasonal store building to the north of the barn. There was nobody in the building when it started and there were no reported injuries. No cause was released Tuesday and an exact amount of damage was not known, but the losses appeared to be substantial. Equipment used for processing and storing apples was inside the structure when it caught fire. Roger Miller, one of the owners of the orchards, could only watch as firefighters from several departments attacked the flames with water from a nearby hydrant in addition to water shuttles and dump tanks. He said the upstairs of the barn was cleaned out a couple of winters ago, with some old wooden apple crates left behind. But Miller said an important piece of equipment was downstairs. "We call it a big apple grater. It's a sorter, washer," he said. "That barn actually is fairly empty this time of year. The cold storage is empty." South Amherst Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Hevener said that when the first crews arrived, they found the barn fully engulfed and began a defensive attack to protect the nearby buildings. Water supply turned out to be an issue in the early going. "But now we've got a water supply established, and we're just (in) defensive mode trying to put the fire out," Hevener said, keeping an eye on the tower truck dousing the barn from above. He noted that the crates in the upper level of the barn added fuel to the fire. Although Hevener could not say Tuesday if the barn was a total loss, he said it's clear "there is going to be heavy damage and fire loss here." Miller Orchards had been closed for the season since late November, according to its website. The intersection of Middle Ridge and Vermilion roads was closed while firefighters were on scene. Departments providing mutual aid to the South Amherst Fire Department included Vermilion, Vermilion Township, Florence Township, Amherst, Camden Township and Wakeman. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.