http://www.wcax.com/story/21633664/vt-poultry-farm-fire-kills-thousands-of-birds
Vt. poultry farm fire kills thousands of birds
Posted: Mar 13, 2013 5:08 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 13, 2013 9:23 PM EDT
By Matt Henson - WCAX
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. -
It was an emotional day for brothers Bill and Rick Thompson. Their livelihood for the past 25 years was reduced to a pile of debris in just a few hours Wednesday morning.
"It hurts a whole lot to see it," Bill Thompson said.
Just before 6 a.m. Wednesday, Rick Thompson noticed a barn on their farm was on fire. By the time firefighters arrived, it was too late to save it-- 20,000 quail and 30 Berkshire pigs were lost.
"We were just embarking on a new part of the business; we were planning on supplying local restaurants with the pigs," Rick said.
"The wind just took the fire and put it from one end of the building to the other," Springfield Deputy Police Chief Scott Richardson said.
The brothers operate Cavendish Game Birds, the largest producer of jumbo quail in New England. Their special breed of the bird is 25 percent larger than commercial quail. They've supplied restaurants across the country.
"They have been to the White House," Bill said.
It took firefighters from 12 departments more than four hours to bring the blaze under control. They were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other nearby buildings, saving 25,000 quail from the same fate.
"The fact we still have flocks left to us is a huge thing. That's our future," Rick said.
Meanwhile, propane companies were also called in to help, since the fire had cut power to the farm's incubation and heating systems, leaving the animals vulnerable to the cold.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it is believed to be accidental. Investigators say they may never know what sparked the massive blaze due to the extensive damage to the barn.
"It's usually pretty hard once the roof and walls have come in, but we'll try," Richardson said.
While investigators work to determine where and how the fire started, the brothers plan to rebuild. They hope to have a new barn up by this summer.
This is an obvious calamity to a couple of guys who put their heart into a bootstrap business and gave it their all. What would it take to get them back on their feet?
ReplyDeleteI hope something can be done.
ReplyDeleteOh no!!! It just hit me, Chuck Gregory, Alpin Jack, Aelethred The Unready, Boss Hogg are all Chuck Gregory! Read close folks and look at the posting times. Oh Chuckles you had us all going for a while. Guess enough is enough.
DeleteNow you're done.
And a quick by the way, these guys are businessmen no sucking on the public nipple. Keep government out of the way and they'll be back in business in a few months.
re: "What would it take to get them back on their feet?"
ReplyDeleteThe same thing that got them there in the first place. Hard work and sacrifice. Something underachievers like yourself can't comprehend.
and help from others, http://www.gofundme.com/2azv4o
DeleteLend this great business a hand.
I'm confident that these sucessful businesmen will, like the Phoenix, rise from the ashes. My best wishes and deepest condolences go out to them and their employees.
ReplyDeleteAnother great 'stop' by our Springfield Fire Dept.
anonymous 5:44 pm,the fire department is always looking for firefighters, why don't you go down and join and then you can save the whole town
Deleteanonymous 5:44,the fire department is always looking for firefighters,why don't you go join the department,then you can save the whole town all by yourself,maybe you should learn the facts before you write you trash talk
ReplyDeleteI DID try to get info to join SFD 2.5 years ago. The dispatcher wouldn't even look up to me so I walked into the (I guess) break room. Two uniformed firefighters with their heads on the table sleeping. I never went back.
ReplyDeleteWow, maybe they had fought a fire all night...maybe they stayed up all night in an ambulance. There could have been an accident and they provided support.
DeleteThere is no dispatcher at the fire station. Nice try.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I used the wrong 'classification'......what is the proper terminoligy for the loaf that sits behind the switchboard to the left as you walk in?
DeleteSo, this "loaf" buzzed you in, you walked into the room to the left, and he ignored you? Then you walked down into the break room in the back part of the fire station only to find 2 uniformed firefighters sleeping. So you walked out, through the door you were buzzed through, and back past the "loaf"and no one spoke to you on your entire self guided tour. Completely believable.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to know enough to make a comment like "another great stop by our Springfield Fire Department", so then enlighten the audience by explaining what plan of attack do you use when a barn is fully engulfed, as specified by aSpringfield PD officer, prior to the first engine arriving on scene? Do you send your firefighters into said barn, or do you protect the others exposures that from possible destruction?Do you attempt to save what cannot be and endanger those involved? If you answered yes, then I am very relieved you were ignored, as you claim you were.
This is an extremely horrible thing that happened, and I feel for the farm owners. But placing blame and ridiculing a subject and men you do not know anything about, is childish.
I hope you have a good night.
As usual, SFD probably didn't want to put the parade vehicles at risk. Water is expensive and shouldn't be wasted on fires.
ReplyDeleteAww, we found our village idiot.
DeleteKinda comical, I was walking my dog on Eureka road and the "parade vehicle" that you speak of was flying towards the fire. It also had a load of heroes and water.
Delete