Barn destroyed, 72 cattle perish in deadly blaze
A serious barn fire last Friday night on Wellington Road 8 near Goldstone left 72 cattle dead.
A woman working in the barn escaped uninjured and one heifer was saved, but the rest of the cattle perished in the blaze, which completely destroyed the dairy barn.
Firefighters from Drayton, Moorefield, Palmerston and Arthur stations responded to the fire call just before 6pm on Sept. 16.
Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson said the barn was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.
They focused on keeping the nearby drive shed and house cool, said Richardson, adding crews hauled water to the site for several hours. Firefighters remained on the scene until about midnight.
Richardson said he assumes the fire started in a straw chopper and spread to straw below.
A damage estimate for the blaze was not available by press time.
