A fire broke out at a hay barn in Delmar on Easter Sunday. 

Fire crews were called just before noon to 57 Van Dyke Rd in Delmar on Sunday, April 5, for a report of a skid steer on fire inside a hay barn. 

911 dispatchers stated the caller advised they were attempting to pull the skid steer outside the barn. 

“When I got there, there was a skid steer on fire and probably 30 round bales of hay on fire and was melting half of the bowstring truss tarp that was over that barn,” said Chief Dan Ryan of the Delmar Fire Department. 

Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to any of the neighboring structures. 

“There was an equipment barn to the left, there was a cattle barn with approximately 190 cattle inside to the right,” said Ryan. “The fire didn’t spread to any of those and basically burned half of the bowstring truss tarp.” 

He says there were more round bales of hay in the rear of the hay barn that did not burn. 

“Water supply was a big issue because we had to bring it in from the road,” Ryan said. 

The first arriving truck connected to the hydrant and laid a supply line up the driveway to the barn. 

Ryan says approximately 800-900 feet of supply line was used to supply water from the hydrant to the scene. 

“The problem with the hydrant was once we hit it, it blocked the street up because it was across the street,” he said. 

He says the road was closed for approximately two hours while crews operated on scene. 

Firefighters spent a lot of time pulling apart the hay bales to fully extinguish the fire. 

“Fortunately the homeowner had a pick on the front of a tractor, so he was able to pick the bales out so they could tear them apart,” said Ryan. 

Ryan says the cattle in the cattle barn did not suffer any injuries. 

“Fortunately the call came in through a milk truck on site,” Ryan said. “Nobody was out there to see it so the driver called the homeowner to let them know they might have an issue out here.” 

Ryan says a few of the family members on the farm were members of the department many years ago. 

“The guy in the tractor was one of our members, so he knew what was going on,” he said. 

There were no injuries reported to anybody on scene.  

Assisting Delmar fire were Slingerlands Fire, Town of Bethlehem FAST Team, Delmar-Bethlehem EMS, Albany County Paramedics and Bethlehem Police.