Taylor Honey Co. Building Destroyed By Fire

by KDLT News
September 16, 2012 9:01 PM


On Sunday at 1:16 p.m. the Day County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call about a structure on fire in the town of Andover.

A large metal building owned by Taylor Honey Company was on fire. The Andover Fire Department responded and was on scene by 1:25 p.m.

Andover Fire quickly requested Pierpont, Bristol, Groton and Webster Fire Departments be called to assist as the structure was fully involved. In addition to the fire units, Day County Sheriff's Office, Day County Emergency Management, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks personnel all participated in traffic control, coordination of resources, and evacuation of houses in the area south of the blaze due to heavy smoke. 

No hazardous materials were known to be stored in the building.  The building had contained bee hives, honey, beeswax, and other items associated with the business.

The fire was caused by a malfunctioning gas engine on a pump being used to transfer honey from a storage tank to a transport tank.  Workers that were using the pump told fire officials that the engine backfired and then burst into flames.

As a precaution during the fire event, Christensen Ambulance was also brought in to be present on scene.  Ambulance personnel briefly treated one of the Taylor Honey workers for a minor burn on his arm. There were no other injuries associated with the fire.

Andover is served by Web Water Company and they were called to assist with water usage at the fire. Also power lines began to melt near the blaze from the intense heat and power was lost to some homes in Andover. Northwestern Energy responded and restored power and fixed the damaged lines.
 
By 3:28 PM, the fire was contained but still smoldering. An excavator was brought in to assist with demolition and clean up.   All units were cleared from the scene at 4:57 PM; however the building and all of its contents were a total loss.