OLIVIA, Minn. — A farm tractor was destroyed by fire Monday afternoon after coming into contact with a power line north of Olivia.
According to the Renville County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers received multiple 911 calls at 1:47 p.m. reporting a tractor fully engulfed in flames in a field along Renville County Road 14, about two miles north of Olivia in Bird Island Township.
When emergency crews arrived, they found the burning tractor connected to an agricultural sprayer, with the sprayer’s boom resting on a power line. Authorities said 59-year-old Michael O’Halloran of Olivia had been operating the equipment when the spray boom accidentally struck an energized power line.
Investigators say O’Halloran received an electrical shock while inside the tractor but was able to escape before the fire started and spread out of control.
O’Halloran was transported by ambulance to Olivia Hospital & Clinics for evaluation. Crews from Renville-Sibley Power Cooperative de-energized the power line, allowing firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
The tractor was declared a total loss. Assistance was provided by the Olivia Fire Department, Olivia Ambulance Service, Renville-Sibley Power Cooperative and the Olivia Police Department.
