08/22/2026
At approximately 20:14 pm August 21 Grundy county communications center was notified by Marshall county communications center of a possible Morton building fire, after multiple 911 calls and volunteer fire fighters on their way to the station, it was confirmed to be a fully involved building fire. It was soon to be found that the contents of the building included two semis, a tractor and round baler and multiple tools and other necessary items to run a trucking business. Upon arrival crews fought a fully involved approximately 60x60 machine shed fire that upon arrival already had partial collapse and it was determined at that point to be a defensive attack only. With quick thinking of both county communication centers, multiple area fire departments were toned out for mutual aid. The fire was deemed under control at approximately 22:10 pm. Crews were on scene until roughly 23:15 pm doing overhaul and finding hot spots. At this point in time the cause of the fire is still under investigation but is believed to be caused by the round baler. Beaman fire department sends out a heartfelt thank you to Conrad fire department, BCERT, Green Mountain Fire, Liscomb Fire, and Albion Fire, Grundy county sheriff, Marshall county sheriff, and both county communication centers for their assistance with this unfortunate event. There will still be some smoke lingering around, and possible rekindles. Please be mindful of the area.
Thank you to local passerby’s and local farmers for quick thinking in saving the other two semis that were outside by the building that was on fire.
A thank you to S R Anderson Farms & Carver Kitzman for the use of their telehandler to pull metal off so we could get to hotspots.
Our sincere apologies to the homeowners if this tragic loss as the majority of their livelihood was lost tonight, please keep them in your prayers.
Photo credit to Steve Anderson
