Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a York Township farm storage building that one fire official said most likely started when a tractor ignited.

Dispatched to the 500 block of Spartan Road just after 11:30 a.m., firefighters found "a lot of smoke and a lot of heat" inside the cinderblock building, Dallastown Fire Co. Capt. Dan Bezek said.

Firefighters took a hose through a side door and had the fire out in minutes, Bezek said.

When the fire was out, the building and most of its contents were unscathed. However, the tractor, a yellow 1975 Ford industrial front-end loader, was severely damaged.

As far as what caused the fire, Bezek said, "We'll investigate. It's pretty clear it started in the tractor."

Steve Shirey, who lives next-door, said he and brother Rick are the executors of the farm, which was owned by their father, Richard Shirey, who died in May.

"I was mowing this morning with the tractor and quit for the day," Steve Shirey said. He put the tractor inside the storage building, and went to his home.

About 10 minutes later, he noticed smoke billowing from the roof's eaves. He told his wife to call 911, and then ran to the building. Opening the side door, he felt the extreme heat and quickly closed it, fearing the extra oxygen would feed the fire.

"I was concerned it was going to blow," he said, because of the gas in the Ford tractor, other tractors, and in several containers inside the building.

"It (the tractor) gave me no reason that there was anything wrong with it; it ran fine," he said.

Steve Shirey said the tractor had sentimental value, because it had been in his family so long and had served them well.

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