BERNIE -- With flames billowing hundreds of feet in the air, firefighters from around the area battled a fire for four hours Wednesday afternoon.
Shortly after 1 p.m., Bernie Fire Department responded to a diesel fuel tank fire at Highway Z and County Road 779, eight miles east of Bernie at Lowery Farms.
According to Bernie Fire Chief Leroy Stockton, an employee at the farm was filling a portable fuel tank when a piece of equipment malfunctioned.
Four fuel tanks located in a wall, mostly containing diesel fuel, caught fire causing damage to a portable trailer and truck being fueled.
"The fire was pretty contained and far enough from other buildings that we were able to keep enough water on it to keep everyone safe," Stockton said.
Nine other departments were called in to provide mutual aid including Advance, Puxico, Bloomfield, Dudley, Malden, Lilbourn, New Madrid, Sikeston and Dexter.
Dexter Fire Chief Don Seymore estimated "several thousand" gallons of fuel was burned during the incident.
Stockton reported crews were on scene about four hours and three ambulance crews from Stoddard County EMS were on scene to keep a check on firefighters in the heat.
Before everyone left, Stockton said firefighters were checked as a precaution.
The Department of Natural Resources was on scene, Stockton said, before crews left the scene.
"They took over and are doing an investigation," he said.
Witnesses could reportedly see smoke from the fire in Dexter.
Lowery Farms is a row crop operation, which according to their Facebook page produces cotton, beans, corn and occasionally wheat.