Spontaneous combustion of feed reported as cause of Columbus fire

COLUMBUS, Neb. -- The Columbus Fire Department says they worked to put out a spontaneous fire Monday morning. 

CFD said a spontaneous combustion of livestock feed has been determined to be the cause of the fire that happened at Frontier Cooperative. 

Around 7:25 a.m. on Monday, CFD said they were dispatched to Frontier Cooperative at 1864 14th Ave. in Columbus for a report of smoke in a building. 

"Upon arrival, smoke was seen exiting a large steel storage building," said Columbus Assistant Fire Chief Nathan Jones. "Fire crews made a knockdown of the fire, but the compactness of the fuel and the large footprint of the building presented unique challenges."

According to Jones, the fire was contained to the area of origin with no fire spread to nearby materials. 

Jones said the large building was full of smoke, which took some time to ventilate out. 

By 8:19 a.m., CFD declared the fire under control, but crews were on scene for about 90 minutes longer performing overhaul of the materials and ventilation of the building. 

There were no injuries reported. 

"The quick knockdown kept the fire at bay, preventing further loss," Jones said.