Gas-fueled pressure washers caused huge hog fire in Truman

TRUMAN - State investigators have concluded that a huge fire that killed more than 12,000 pigs and hogs at a southern Minnesota swine farm was accidental and caused by excessive heat from gas-fueled pressure washers, according to KEYC-TV in Mankato.
The State Fire Marshal Division released its conclusion Tuesday in the fire at Cougar Run, a farrowing operation owned by 12 independent producers near Truman in Martin County. Firefighters from 10 agencies battled the fire last Oct. 25. The blaze destroyed three buildings, 3,300 sows and 9,000 piglets. The report says the livestock loss alone was valued at $1.3 million.
Investigators say the heat from the gas pressure washers operating for four hours ignited some insulation in an attic area next to a chimney exhaust stack.
A second operation with 2,800 sows about a mile away was not affected. Together they employed about two dozen people, none of whom were injured in the fire.