Man ‘lucky to be alive’ after tractor catches fire in Ashton
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FREMONT COUNTY — A tractor and baler caught fire in Ashton Saturday morning, according to officials. The driver was not seriously injured.
“(The driver) was traveling down the road to go to the next field and he ended up having some electrical issues,” Ashton ire Chief Andrew Rogers said of the incident. “That killed the engine and ignited the fire.”
Because the engine died, the power steering also went out, and the driver lost control of the tractor, Rogers told EastIdahoNews.com. The tractor and the baler it was towing ended up flipping over and landing in a canal.
Having a fire extinguisher saved the man from drowning, Rogers said. He used the extinguisher to break out a window and crawled out to safety.
“He has some bumps and bruises,” Rogers said. “But he is a very lucky man to be alive.”
This is the third vehicle fire the North Fremont Fire District has responded to in the last four days, according to a Facebook post by Fremont County Emergency Management on Saturday.
The post shows several pictures of vehicles in flames.
On Thursday, EastIdahoNews.com reported on another tractor fire. That one was in a field in the Squirrel area, near Ashton.
Rogers told EastIdahoNews.com at the time that farmers should keep their equipment as clean as possible.
Grain dust is highly combustible, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It can catch fire or even explode if enough becomes airborne or accumulates on a surface. Hot bearings or an overheated motor is all it would take to ignite the dust.
After Saturday’s incident, Rogers also encourages the public to be mindful of large, slow-moving farm equipment as the farmers go about their harvest.
“Have patience,” he said.
In its Facebook post, Fremont County Emergency Management reminded folks to allow first responders to do their work.
“Please do not drive to a fire to see what is happening,” the Facebook post said. “It makes it hard for emergency vehicles to get through and complicates the situation. If you see an emergency vehicle approaching with its emergency lights on please pull to the side of the road and stop.”