By Maria Coole
Sunday News (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2006 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
LANCASTER, Pa. — A fire at a Manheim farm Saturday destroyed a two-story chicken house that a fire official said had just been filled with birds the day before.
Dan Reif, chief of Manheim Fire Co., said 12,000 chickens died in the fire. He estimated the loss at $275,000.
When firefighters arrived at the farm at 1537 Old Line Road, owned by Lester Moyer, three-quarters of the 300-by-50-foot chicken house was burning, Reif said.
There wasn’t anything to save, Reif said, and firefighters let the rest burn and kept the fire from spreading into surrounding fields.
Reif said the cause of the fire is unknown. Two state police fire marshals were at the scene.
About an hour after the fire call, which came in at 11:41 a.m., the fire burned itself out, having devoured the building and birds.
What was left was the concrete base of the chicken house, and from a distance one would not have known there had been a structure on the small rise of land, except for the light smoke that rose above the base like mist on a foggy morning.
But unlike a cool mist, the smoke came from the cooking concrete, which popped, belching dirt and concrete several feet into the air as the moisture in the concrete turned to steam. The pops were random and sounded like the volley of explosives used to propel fireworks.
Firefighters in their heavy gear had to be cautious of the heat, and several companies responded to assist and relieve Manheim Fire Co.
Those were Mastersonville, Penryn, East Petersburg, Hempfield, Rheems, Brunnerville and Mount Joy. Manheim Memorial Ambulance also responded. Lititz Fire Co. stood by at Manheim’s station, and Cornwall out of Lebanon County stood by at Mastersonville’s station.