Firefighters battle field fire outside Franklin

<p>Ten fire departments from two counties fought a large field fire on Thursday afternoon about three miles southwest of Franklin, which caused ash to fall downtown and in subdivisions.</p><p>It took crews more than two hours to extinguish the fire, which started on a combine at Duckworth Farms, 862 E. County Road 125 S. Fire investigators aren’t sure yet what caused the combine to catch fire, Franklin Fire Department spokesman Brad Epperson said.</p><p>&quot;It was a very large fire that was complicated by dry conditions and windy conditions,&quot; Epperson said.</p><p>&quot;The ash was probably from it as it was blowing toward town. That was a result of the corn stalks burning. There was a lot of fuel for the fire and conditions were such that the fire was able to spread aggressively and required firefighters to take a defensive and offensive approach to control and prevent further spreading.&quot; </p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>It it unclear at this time how many acres of crops were damaged, he said. Water supply may have been an issue had so many tankers not responded.</p><p>No injuries were reported.</p><p>Eight fire departments from Johnson County and two Shelby County departments helped fight the fire: Franklin, Amity, Trafalgar, Needham, Nineveh, Bargersville, Edinburgh, Whiteland, Flat Rock and Marietta.</p>