Farmer thanked for dousing Innisfil fire
Larry Kell is being called an unsung hero after helping a fellow farmer during a Gilford fire.
At 4:30 p.m. on July 20, a hay bailer caught on fire on Bruce Drybrough’s farm, on Shore Acres Drive.
“Phones began ringing within minutes in the shirt pockets of many neighbours, and while the fire department began its response, so did the community,” neighbour John Trotter said. “Within minutes I was aware of the fire’s location and I drove to (Drybrough’s) driveway to see what help was required.”
One fire truck had already arrived and was beginning to slow the spread of the fire, but the wind was pushing the fire across the 10-acre field of fresh-cut straw, toward Trotter’s fields of dry standing wheat, as well as Drybrough’s hardwood bush.
As he was going to get his backhoe, Trotter saw a familiar white pickup truck speed to the rescue.
“Anyone who lives in south Innisfil recognizes the white pick up trucks as a sure sign that a member of the Kell family is near.”
Larry Kell was at the wheel, gunning his truck toward the fire.
He had already ordered his farm staff to deliver his largest tractor, equipped with their biggest tilling discs.
“In two minutes I watched as the massive tractor approached across my wheat field,” Trotter said.
By then, loose and baled hay was on fire and many people worked together to till the land to douse the flames.
“(Kell) climbed into the driver’s seat, put the hydraulic discs down into the locked position and headed for the danger of the burning fields,” Trotter said. “Within seconds (Kell) began to lessen the fire’s ability to do damage as he turned the burnt straw field into freshly tilled powdery soil.”
In just over an hour, the main fire had been extinguished and Trotter noted it had come within three feet of a 60-year-old split rail fence near his property.
“Larry Kell deserves special recognition for being the neighbour who knew what to do and for doing it. He had the equipment and took action,” Trotter said.