Sorry to hear about the fire... Good to hear that no one was injured... Here we use fire suppression systems on our harvesters.. we've had fires brake out on our harvesters over the years, fortunately they were fitted with the fire suppression systems.. and only resulted in minor damnage.
2 days ago I was running a friend of mine's 9870 I can smell smoldering a couple times. When I got out to check it out up inside the gearbox of the rotor was smoldering. Threw some water on it. . Spray the air / water extinguisher on it once available. And the next day after it cools off. I blew chaff out of the outer gearbox area for over an hour. All burnt stunk like crap. With a 2 ft long wand it is easy to get in all of the holes beside the bolts. These guys were not as particular on maintenance as other people are... Either way it was a good save instead of a horrible Loss. . The gearbox of the rotor up top in behind the motor is prone to catching on fire. Almost daily it is wise to cram an air wand almost as much as the radiator. I was able to get the wand in just about 18 inches in various directions and you can get in so many different areas on the outside without even opening it up. Park wise according to the wind and try not to do it with the combine after it has been running
worked several summers in high school for a custom harvesting operation with a fleet of dozens of wheat and bean combines. The easiest way to irritate the boss and possibly find yourself looking for another job was to forget to blow off the chaff and dust twice a day with the massive air compressor on a trailer. Every machine running was supposed to be blown off by the halfway point of the shift AND at the end of the shift in preparation for the next day. The most common starting point of a combine fire is the chaff and dust that has collected in the engine bay on the hot exhaust manifolds. The most effective way to prevent it is to keep that machine clean; especially the engine area. You also have to keep those radiators clean or the engine won't cool itself effectively. The fires can usually be put out if caught early; but as soon as it compromises any portion of the fuel system, there is no stopping it. Glad everyone got out ok.