The cause of a fire that destroyed a Jackson Township barn has been ruled undetermined.
Kansas Fire Chief Bob Dible said the fire, reported late Tuesday night at 7547 N. CR 5 by a passerby, was electrical in nature, but firefighters are not sure how it ignited.
Dible said the cause of the fire could have either been fuse boxes that went bad or an overhead light.
"We just don't know which one went first," he said.
Dible said 28 sheep had been inside of the barn at the time of the fire, and 27 of them were able to exit through a back door. He said a tractor and 200 bales of hay and straw also were inside the barn at the time of the fire and were destroyed.
"There was never any fear of it starting the house on fire," he said.
According to reports from the Seneca County Sheriff's Office, Kansas firefighters were assisted at the scene by Bascom and Bettsville fire departments. Bettsville EMS also responded to the fire. No injuries were reported.
Dible said firefighters battled the fire until about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
