CALLOWAY COUNTY – September is the time when local farmers typically start dark-firing tobacco, and with the current drought continuing, emergency agencies say it’s especially important right now for people to be able to tell if a barn is actually on fire before they call 911.

F armers that grow the dark-fired tobacco typically used for chewing and pipe tobacco usually start curing their crop this time of year, as the workers hang the harvested plants in barns and cure them by exposing them to fire inside. This process gives the product its aroma, color and flavor, and it produces a light-colored or white smoke that is expelled from the barn.

Lt. Taylor Black, public information officer for Calloway County Fire-Rescue, said that while most people who grew up in this area know the diff

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