Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Wednesday, February 10, 2016
(SPRINGVILLE) - A fire engulfed a pole barn at 295 Poplar Bluff which killed a number of baby pigs and destroyed all the equipment inside.
Firefighters from Perry and Marshall Volunteer Fire Departments were alerted to the blaze at 11:20 p.m. after a neighbor saw flames shooting from the barn.
Perry VFD Chief Max Peters says firefighters arrived within 10 minutes of receiving the call. Poplar Bluff is about a mile and a half off Popcorn Road.
"The 30-foot by 50-foot pole barn was engulfed in flames," Peters says. "It was a metal pole building that had a garage and other extensions added on. It was almost impossible to get the water into the fire."
The steel sides trapped the blaze inside of the building, making temperatures soar.
But firefighters were able to save some of the baby pigs inside.
"We don't know how many were killed in the blaze," he added. "There are still several running loose in the woods at the property."
Everything in the barn was destroyed.
"It was filled with all kinds of equipment," Peters says. "There was also wood stacked in there and gas and oil that fueled the fire."
Lawrence County Highway crews responded with sand trucks.
"It was a mess, the private road had not been plowed and it was covered with ice," Peters says. "It was uphill at both entrances on the single-lane blacktopped road. If it wasn't for them it was almost impossible to get to the fire. They graded the road and put down sand and salt. I can't thank them enough for helping us."
Firefighters were also blinded at times by small strong snow bursts.
"It was impossible to see at times," Peters says. "Everything that could was working against us."
Lawrence County Emergency Management was also called to the scene because of the oil and fuel spills inside the building.
Peters believes the fire ignited after a heat lamp fell into fresh dry bedding.
"The owners had been there about an hour before the fire started," Peters says. "They had cleaned up the area where the baby pigs were and put down new dry bedding under the area of the heat lamp."
Firefighters were on the scene for more than 5 hours battling the blaze.
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