Staff Reports
MOULTRIE — A heater being used to dry pecans caught a trailer full of them on fire, damaging the trailer, early Friday morning. A firefighter was injured fighting the flames.
Volunteer firefighters from the Funston, Westside and Bay volunteer fire departments were called to the pecan farm owned by Lynn Jones, at 2547 Highway 37 W. at 12:02 a.m. Friday. When they arrived, there was a trailer full of five or six tons of pecans engulfed in flames.
Jones told a Colquitt County sheriff’s deputy he put a heater next to the trailer to dry out the pecans. The heater, however, got the pecans too hot and caused them to ignite. The pecans were destroyed, and the trailer was heavily damaged.
During the incident, one of the volunteer firefighters was injured when he fell off a ladder and landed on his back. Colquitt County EMS was called to the scene, but he was treated at the scene and did not require transport to Colquitt Regional Medical Center. No other injuries were reported.
Jones stated he did not know the value of the pecans or the cost to replace the trailer and equipment damaged by the fire.
