The Citizen, 2016-12-08, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016.
Pig barn fire is FDNH's biggest loss of year
Battling the blaze
The Fire Department of North Huron, alongside its mutual
aid partners from Goderich and Lucknow, battled an early -
morning blaze at an Auburn -area farm on Saturday
The Fire Department of North
Huron (FDNH), alongside several
assisting fire departments, battled
the most damaging blaze of the year
early Saturday morning.
The fire claimed a pig barn owned
by Mike Franken on Westfield Road
near Donnybrook Line and, along
with the 640 head of livestock
inside, caused approximately $1
million in damage according to early
estimates.
morning. The fire, which claimed
livestock, had firefighters on scene
electrical problem is being blamed
Firefighters were on the scene at 2
a.m. on Saturday morning and
discovered the 17,000 square foot
barn fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters from both FDNH Blyth
and Wingham halls were joined by
a pig barn and 640 head of
for approximately 10 hours. An
for the blaze. (Denny Scott photo)
firefighters and tankers from
Goderich and Lucknow.
The call had the firefighters on
scene for nearly 10 hours, as FDNH
Blyth and Wingham were not back
in service until noon on Saturday.
The department returned to the
site on Sunday with an Ontario Fire
Marshal due to the proximity of
similar fires in recent years. Morris-
Turnberry Fire Prevention Office
James Marshall explained the visit
was because of the clustering and
not because of foul play.
"On average, FDNH responds to a
pig barn fire every 18 months," he
said. "This is the fourth barn fire
within a three -kilometre radius since
March 2014. None of these fires are
suspicious, but based on the
frequency of the calls, the Fire
Marshal's Office sent an investigator
to the scene"
The investigator was on scene
Saturday and Sunday.
The fire was caused by an
electrical issue according to Fire
Chief David Sparling, who said this
fire is part of a string of fires over the
past two months that have put the
FDNH over its estimated call level
for the year.
"Our fire call activity has been
unrelenting," he said. "Until
September, the FDNH was pretty
close to projections, but now we are
well beyond them and this number
had been increased from previous
years' forecasts."
Franken, who lives outside of
Dungannon, said in an interview
with The Citizen that the barn wasn't
full because more pigs were on the
way, so the damages, while extreme,
could have been worse.
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