Grain silo collapses in Clark County

A silo collapsed Thursday at Miami Valley Feed and Grain Company on West Jefferson Street in New Carlisle, marking the second time such an incident has happened at the business this year. Firefighters said the silo was holding grain waste. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

A silo collapsed Thursday at Miami Valley Feed and Grain Company on West Jefferson Street in New Carlisle, marking the second time such an incident has happened at the business this year. Firefighters said the silo was holding grain waste. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

A grain silo collapsed in New Carlisle Thursday afternoon, and local officials said they were relieved it was a safe distance from homes and major roads.

The silo at the Miami Valley Feed and Grain Company fell just before 2:30 p.m. Thursday. It was the second time this year a silo in the area has collapsed. A separate silo operated by the same company collapsed in January, closing Ohio 571 in New Carlisle for days.

“They’ve had a couple of these on their property they had one they had taken down,” said Steve Trusty, New Carlisle Fire Chief. “This one, matter of fact, they were ready to take this one down soon because of its age and it just gave way before they could get to it.”

Trusty said he was relieved the silo that fell was further back on the company’s property and was far enough back from homes and major roads that it didn’t cause more damage. Initially, he said he was concerned it may have been a larger silo closer to the road. Crews from DP&L were on the scene shortly after the accident to remove live wires.

“It was just an older silo that was on the backside of the property, a lot smaller than what we had last year,” Trusty said. “Basically it gave way and fell over and took over a couple power lines.”

Company officials declined to comment on the incident Thursday afternoon. Trusty said the silo’s age was likely a contributing factor.

“You have to look at the town and you have to look at the age of New Carlisle,” Trusty said. “A lot of things in New Carlisle are old and that’s basically what it was. It was the type of silo … made from cement plates that are put together and banded and basically it’s just age.”

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