Leonore firefighters were assisted by five other area fire departments to extinguish a grain bin fire Monday afternoon on a farm near East 13th Road, a half mile south of Route 18.

Besides volunteers from the Leonore department, firefighters from Reading, Long Point, Grand Ridge, Lostant and Tonica were called to the farm of Ed Flanigan to fight a fire near the bottom of a grain bin.

Before firefighters could get to the source of the blaze, Flanigan had to use a backhoe to quickly empty grain from the bin. The bin was reportedly destroyed in the process of reaching the actual blaze.

According to Rod Strack, assistant to the Leonore fire chief, the cause of the grain fire is believed to be electrical in its origin.