Logging skidder went up in flames, operator jumped off safely

A logging skidder went up in flames on Monday afternoon in the Beech Grove Community. The Beech Grove Fire Department was sent to the incident shortly after 1:00 on Farm to Market Road 777 near Walnut Run Creek. Norman Sells, the owner of Norman Sells Logging Company, said that one of his men was operating the skidder when a line carrying fuel or hydraulic fluid ruptured and it sprayed directly onto the hot manifold of the engine. The engine compartment immediately burst into flames and Mr. Sells said his employee managed to jump off safely. Beech Grove firefighters arrived a short time later and quickly doused the flames. However, they had to continue putting water on the engine compartment for several minutes to get it cooled down. According to Mr. Sells, the cost to replace it with a used one will be 70-80 thousand dollars.