A chicken barn at Oakdell Egg Farms in Lewiston caught fire Tuesday afternoon and eventually collapsed. The 20,000 square foot building housed around 120,000 chickens, all of which were lost to the fire.
No people were inside the building at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. A cause is not known at this time.
According to Cache County Fire Marshal Jason Winn, the fire started just after 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Fire departments around the county and from Franklin County, Idaho were called in. When firefighters arrived on scene at 2500 South and 1600 West in Lewiston, the barn structure was still standing but flames were showing. Eventually, the structure collapsed.
“When Lewiston’s engine arrived on scene, there was fire coming through the roof of the barn,” Winn said. “That’s when they called for a second, third and fourth alarm.”
Winn said that in total, roughly 60 firefighters were on scene to fight the fire.
According to Winn, a lack of sufficient water supply caused difficulties in the extinguishing effort.
“There’s one hydrant there that was initially hooked, and then we had to get more water to the back half of the structure, so that’s when we had to put the tender task force together so they can bring water in.”
Tender trucks have large tanks to supply water for firetrucks. The tenders continuously trucked in water to the fire throughout the evening for firefighters to use.
Winn said that it was clear early on that the barn on fire would not be able to be saved, so firefighters made successful efforts to keep the fire under control and stop it from spreading to nearby buildings.
Around 8:30 p.m., according to Winn, trackhoes were brought in to remove debris and expose any hot spots for firefighters to deal with.
“They worked for about an hour or so, peeling off tin so that it could cool down, we can put a little bit of water on it to cool it off for the night,” Winn said. “When I got there this morning about 9:00, it was pretty much out.”
Winn said that it would likely take a few days to identify the cause of the fire.
Roads around Oakdell Egg Farms were closed to traffic as the firefighters worked on the fire and brought in trucks of water.
We welcome comments, however there are some guidelines:
Keep it Clean: Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexual language. Don't Threaten:
Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be
Truthful: Don't lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice: No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading. Be Proactive: Report abusive
posts and don’t engage with trolls. Share with Us:
Tell us your personal accounts and the history behind articles.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
We welcome comments, however there are some guidelines:
Keep it Clean: Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexual language. Don't Threaten: Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful: Don't lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice: No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading. Be Proactive: Report abusive posts and don’t engage with trolls. Share with Us: Tell us your personal accounts and the history behind articles.