The grain bin at Miami Valley Feed & Grain collapsed spilling corn onto SR 571 late Sunday night. ANDY GRIMM | PHOTO

The grain bin at Miami Valley Feed & Grain has collapsed, causing State Route 571 to be closed and leaving close to 50 residents without  power.

Neighbors and business owners close by heard a series of loud explosions around 11:30pm Sunday night, followed by a loud “swooshing” sound. However; New Carlisle Fire Chief Steve Trusty says the explosion sound was likely caused by the transformers blowing. “We believe this was a collapse of the structure” said Chief Trusty. The “swoosh” was the sound of nearly 200 truckloads of corn spilling out onto 571 and across the property.

“We are looking at one complete structure failure and one half structure failure” said Chief Trusty in a news conference.

The cause of the collapse is not yet known as Trusty says he cannot send his department in to assess the damage with live wires on the ground. No employees were reportedly on site, but Trusty says his department will fully investigate each building to confirm.

“We're not going to do much until daybreak” said New Carlisle Fire Assistant Chief Rick Ritter, “it's just too dangerous.”

Trusty stated that the State Fire Marshall will be on scene at daylight.

There is no timeline of events for the cleanup as of this moment, but Chief Trusty says that the road will be closed for at least a few days. “Avoid the area if at all possible.”

Drivers may use Scarf Road as the detour while State Route 571 is closed.

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