Fire destroys

pig barn in

Home Township

Owners uncertain

if they will rebuild

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- Gary Kuelbs considered himself a lucky man after an explosion in a farrowing and nursery barn killed about 600 nursery pigs and 20 sows on his farm at about 7:50 a.m. Saturday.

Kuelbs, who raises pigs with Bruce Kuelbs and Gordy Kuelbs just south of the Minnesota River bluff on the northern edge of Home Township, was on his knees, inside the wood frame, steel-sided barn, about 15 feet from the explosion. He was doing routine manure pit cleaning, just like he has done every two or three weeks for the past 11 years.

Kuelbs described the situation.

"I was lucky I was facing away from it. I was about 15 feet from the room that exploded when I saw the fireball go right over me down the hallway." Kuelbs said. "It happened quick. All the vents were going. When it ignited, it really went, right through the intakes. There was lots of fire. I could hear the pigs squealing. I quickly shut off the gas. "

He was able to remove a pressure washer from the barn before it was engulfed in flames.

Kuelbs tried to extinguish the fire with an extinguisher, but he soon realized he needed more help. He called 911. Sleepy Eye firefighters arrived with a tanker, pumper, equipment truck and an extra crew in a pickup truck.

New Ulm firefighters provided mutual aid with a tanker, pumper and crew. M R Paving & Excavating of New Ulm provided heavy equipment to help handle the fire and clean up.

Firefighters remained at the scene until about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Kuelbs escaped the explosion with some hair singed off the back of his head. He believes the blast was caused by methane gas.

"If I had been standing up when during the explosion, it would have been a lot worse," Kuelbs said. "We were lucky the wind was so calm too. I'd like to thank everybody that helped. All the firefighters and M R Paving."

He added that he may have had a slight vision loss. He planned to get his vision checked this week.

Kuelbs was unsure rebuilding is an option.

"It seems the industry trend now is bigger operations," Kuelbs said. "I guess we'll have to think about it."

(Fritz Busch can be reached at fbusch@nujournal.com).