Farmer shocked after massive barn fire

Jun 13, 2017

Some 4,000 pigs perished in a Manitoba barn fire

By Jennifer Jackson

A farmer from Manitoba faces the aftermath of a devastating barn fire.

While working offsite on June 8, Jason Falk, a pig farmer from New Bothwell, was notified by a neighbour that his barns may be on fire.

“My first thought was, ‘That's not possible. It must be someone else’s.’ And as I went around the corner to notice it was, to be honest, at that moment you're in shock,” Falk told CBC.

Barn Fire

StephenBrua/iStock/GettyImagesPlus

The fire claimed two barns and nearly 4,000 of Falk’s herd of 9,000. This was the largest fire the area has seen in the past few years, according to Paul Wiebe, fire chief for the rural municipality of Hanover.

“We've had these kind of numbers before,” Wiebe told CBC. “Thankfully it's not often, and thankfully these hogs will have died early in the fire.”

The loss represents a long road to recovery for the family farm, according to Falk.

“It means a lot of hard work. It means a lot of emotional and mental energy. It means restructuring what the employees will be doing,” he said. “It means a lot of things we don't know yet, because there are so many unknowns when we have a tragedy like this.”

Pigs on Falk’s farm “have been infected with the porcine epidemic disease virus (PEDv),” which will contribute to greater difficulties rebuilding, according to CBC.

Falk’s family received great support from the swine industry, friends and community members. In contrast to the encouragement, Falk also witnessed social media comments that claim the fire and damage was executed on purpose.

“There's this underlying theme of maybe it being planned … and I just don't know why anyone would think that,” he said. “If they understood the emotional and mental toll of watching animals suffer and watching facilities burn they would understand that … it's crazy. I don't know how else to put it.”

The arson claims confuse and concern Falk.

“There are enough challenges in other aspects of life that we all face, I don't know why anyone would want to add something like this to their plate.”

Currently, there are no suspicions of arson, according to the Manitoba RCMP.

Farms.com has reached out to Manitoba Pork for comments on the blaze, and reminders of how to protect your barns.

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