Firefighters from Milverton, Shakespeare and Sebringville tried to put out the blaze
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
A farmer in Milverton, Ontario is mourning the loss of 1,800 pigs after his barn on Perth Road 130 near Brunner, went up in flames early Wednesday afternoon.
22 firefighters from Milverton, Shakespeare, and Sebringville tried to put out the blaze, but the barn’s steel roof and cement wall construction prevented too much of an obstacle for the firefighters.
“We couldn’t get water at it,” Perth East Fire Department deputy chief Kevin Reis told CTV News.
The damage is estimated at $650,000 and the barn owner told CTV News he plans on rebuilding.
A defective heater is the suspected cause of the fire.
Already in 2015, barn fires seem to be becoming a more common occurrence in Ontario.
- On January 17, a horse died in a barn fire near Woodstock.
- On January 19, hundreds of pigs perished in a barn fire near Appin.
- On January 27, OPP, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry police officers and firefighters responded to a barn fire on County Road 4 (Lakeshore Drive) in South Dundas Township.
- On February 2, a Hunstville man passed away after a small barn caught fire and he entered trying to save his dog.
- On February 3, Old MacDonald’s Barn, a staple of Storybook Gardens theme park in London since 1958, went up in flames, causing approximately $80,000 in damages.
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has an online pamphlet available with information on some of the leading causes of barn fires and how to they can be prevented.
Insurance agencies like The Co-Operators and James Campbell Insurance offer different packages where farmers can alter their coverage based on their specific needs.
A barn on fire.