Bij stalbrand in Canadese Perth County sterven zo'n 800 varkens....

800 pigs lost in barn fire

24-12-2009 By Laura Cudworth, The Beacon Herald, Canada


It wasn't a very Merry Christmas for one Perth County family. Their hog barn off Highway 7/8 east of Road 102 was destroyed by fire early Christmas Eve and nearly 800 animals perished.

"Christmas is always tough, isn't it. It always makes things worse," said Shakespeare fire Capt. Doug Horst.

A Stratford man driving on Highway 7/8 at about 4:45 a.m. spotted the smoke coming from the barn which is well back from and road. He drove onto the property and woke up the family.

Property owner Chris Lichti called the fire department and waited. It was all he could do.

"I knew that much smoke was not good. I stood outside and watched the flames start. It was not a good Christmas Eve morning," he said.

Within 10 minutes the 8,000 square foot barn was fully engulfed, Capt. Horst said. The 18 firefighters on the scene had the blaze under control within a few minutes but to extinguish it took close to five hours.

By the time it was over there was nothing left but the foundation.

If losing his barn on Christmas Eve wasn't bad enough, the loss of the hogs was especially distressing because trucks were scheduled to pick them up at 8 a.m.
The only small relief is about 1,000 hogs had already gone over the past two weeks.

With the 10-year-old barn gutted and in clear view of the house it was hard to think about Christmas, Mr. Lichti acknowledged. He didn't know what the family will do next.
"I think we'll explore whether rebuilding is the best way to do it or what," he said.

Capt. Horst declined to speculate on what may have caused the blaze.
"It's just a best-guess when it's fully involved like that," he said.

Damages are estimated at about $500,000.

(Bron: http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/)