Firefighters Responded To Cotton Picker Fire

November 18, 2020

Escambia Fire Rescue responded to a cotton picker fire in field in Bratt near the Florida/Alabama state line early Wednesday evening.

The smoldering cotton picker was located about a half mile off Morton Road in a field south of State Line Road. There were no injuries reported.

The Walnut Hill and Century stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

14 Responses to “Firefighters Responded To Cotton Picker Fire”

  1. Lol on November 20th, 2020 11:49 am

    A little education. Older pickers still run in the 300k$ range while newer ones are over a million cost. Cotton is a leading crop in the world. You dont get just clothes from it. Most everything you eat or consume has cottonseed oil in it. Many medicines have cotton seed oil. Unless you live in or grew up or currently farm in the community you will never know how bad this situation is to be put in. No that farmer that has already had a crappy year with the storms and stuff has got to cover the cost of that picker. Insurance will pay you say? Not really. Theres still debt incurred and then still having to find another unit. Most of these pickers catch fire due to the fan chutes cloggin and the friction ignites the lint going through it. Theres other ways as well. But for those that comment that its an old tractor. Its just food your eating. No big deal. So lets take the food your eating and the clothes your wearing away form you since its just an old tractor that helps produce all of this stuff. Im so sick of these outsiders coming in like they know it all.

  2. David on November 19th, 2020 5:25 pm

    @ Dedra
    You are right 100%
    Many see the nicest cloths on a rack…dont
    have a clue what a hard thankless job being a farmer is.
    I have nothing but high respect for those hard working farmer families and do appreciate it.
    Some also think corn comes from a can….they nothing about how it got there.
    Makedsme want to give those types like Boll Weevil a bag of grits and tell them thats where corn comes from……plant 100 acres of grits and claim they dont know why it isnt coming up.

  3. Just saying on November 19th, 2020 4:07 pm

    One of the first things I learn in economics 101,
    You know how to make a small fortune in farming?

    Start with a large fortune!

  4. Ms.Barbara on November 19th, 2020 11:56 am

    Dedra Yonker: Kudos for what you said!!!! You are spot on!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. Ms.Barbara on November 19th, 2020 11:55 am

    Boll Weevil: get out in the fresh air,with the clothes you wear,and learn some things about just how important cotton pickers are………..it is a lot of families survival and livelihood…………learn!!!!

  6. Buddy on November 19th, 2020 9:56 am

    Dedra Yonker
    Well said. Thank you for speaking the truth so well.

  7. tg on November 19th, 2020 9:34 am

    Boll Weevil its easy to see you know nothing about farming. Take the next Farm Tour and get educated. Tour offered by Extension Service.

  8. Dedra Yonker on November 19th, 2020 6:34 am

    @Boll Weevil this is news first and foremost because we live in a farming community. Secondly, you obviously have no idea what it cost our farmers to prepare the ground, buy the fertilizer, buy the seeds, plant the crop and harvest the crop among many other expenses.Not to mention when all is said and done they are lucky to break even. People see the expensive equipment and think these guys are rich but most of them owe more money to the bank than the average Joe. That’s what they have to do to provide for us. Yes, some farmers have enough land to actually make a profit at the end of the year but most do not. So to really answer your question, this is news because most of us care about our farmers and hate knowing that yet another obstacle has been placed in their path. This cotton picker is owned by one person but I guarantee it is not just used by one farmer. Our farmers stick together and help each other out. This picker being out of commission will most likely effect many acres of cotton still needing to be picked. Last but not least, just so you know the boll weevil is 98% eradicated in the USA and that is because of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program that farmers have to pay for every single year. They pay $2 for every acre of cotton they plant. That might not sound like a lot of money but it’s yet another expense placed upon someone that is trying to meet the needs of all Americans.

  9. Samuel Stewart on November 19th, 2020 6:31 am

    That was out in front of my house. As most farmers are already stressing then something like this happen. I have been listening to the picker for a couple days it seemed like a nice 9965 or 9976 just could not see the numbers. So who ever you are saying it just a old piece of equipment think about it could been that cotton picker that picked the cotton in the clothing on ur back before you say it was just a piece of old farm equipment

  10. Master Mechanic on November 19th, 2020 12:55 am

    Usually after sitting since last year …..a bearing seized-up,& became hot enough to start fire…..engineers love “sealed bearings”meaning no provision for grease zerks.You can’t hear the bearing for the machine noise,by that time it’s to late.Saw Alt.bearings seize up & burn vehicle completely up….squirt of grease would have prevented that
    Hope he had insurance on it.

  11. Hmmm on November 18th, 2020 11:50 pm

    @Farmer Brown It’s a been a bit since you’ve priced new equipment…

  12. Farmer Brown on November 18th, 2020 9:57 pm

    “Why is this even news? It’s just an old tractor.”

    Cotton pickers are not tractor. They are their piece of farm machinery. I can only see the John Deere green in the picture and can’t make out the model, but cotton pickers can close $200,000 to $500,000. Even used they can bee $100,000 to $300,000. That’s more than most houses around here.

  13. Boll Weevil on November 18th, 2020 9:52 pm

    Why is this even news? It’s just an old tractor.

  14. paul on November 18th, 2020 9:05 pm

    A plot perpetrated by the boll weevils