MARTINSBURG — Almost 20 firefighters from two departments played a careful waiting game Thursday evening, making sure personnel and equipment were on hand while a silo fire burned itself out.

Bladensburg Fire Chief Bob Beach said the fire call was received by his department around 5:30, reporting an 80-foot high silo had smoke streaming from the top.

Rodney Baughman, who sometimes works on the farm which is owned by Ed Wolf, said the fire had been spotted by Wolf’s wife inside the house.

When 10 Bladensburg firefighters arrived with three engines, two medics and a tanker, they requested mutual aid from the Utica Fire Department. Utica sent an additional tanker and engine, and a crew of seven.

While firefighters stood by with hoses ready, they also monitored the temperature in the silo with a thermal imaging camera.

Beach said the firefighters were not putting water on the fire, because of the danger of an explosion. “If we put too much water in there, we could blow the bottom out,” he said. “If we don’t follow the right procedures, we could have an explosion.”

The crews prepared for a long evening, while they waited to hear from a specialist from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. “We’re trying to get someone from the Department of Agriculture who’s more experienced and knowledgeable about this type of thing,” Beach said. “No one’s in any immediate danger, so we’ll wait.”

Beach released the firefighters from the scene about two hours later, after determining the fire was burning itself out.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.