An official count of animals lost in the Feb. 9 Post Road barn fire was released Monday, with more than 30 livestock perishing in the blaze.
The Bloomingburg Paint Marion (BPM) Joint Fire District responded to a structure fire at 11139 Post Road at 3:31 p.m. on Feb. 9. It was discovered when firefighters arrived on scene that the structure was one of the owner’s smaller barns that had caught fire behind the residence and had contained livestock. The cause of the fire has been ruled undetermined but definitely accidental in nature.
According to BPM Fire Chief Ron Huff, the owner of the barn said that seven sheep, one adult female swine, nine piglets, 15 chickens and a cat were killed in the fire. Additionally, items including bee-keeping equipment, plumbing equipment, hunting gear, camping gear, lawn and garden tools, pieces of furniture, a canoe and sewing equipment were also lost in the fire that destroyed the barn.
The barn was about 20 feet by 15 feet, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Several water trucks from BPM fire district as well as assistance from the Pic-A-Fay Joint Fire District was needed to battle the fire, a bit of help that Huff said he appreciates.
“The cause could just about be anything inside that barn, and with so many variables, it is nearly impossible to rule which one caused the fire,” Huff said during an interview Monday. “I appreciate Pic-A-Fay’s help with sending water trucks and manpower to the scene. As any of the firefighters know, it was not only about the barn that they were fighting, but the elements as well, such as the snow and wind, that continued throughout the whole process. The building was probably already fully engulfed before we got the call, but it just went up too quickly and the barn was lost. Under all the circumstances, I think the volunteers did a good job. It is just awful this happened.”
The two fire departments fought the flame for several hours but it had already become fully engulfed and burned down in the span of about 30 minutes. As the BPM and Pic-A-Fay fire districts worked, more volunteers continued to arrive after hearing the call for more manpower, according to one volunteer on the scene. Just a small pile of metal and a few flames were all that was left of the barn at around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 9.
