An Aug. 11 barn fire here claimed the lives of 92 veal calves and caused approximately $200,000 worth of damage, Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson told the Wellington Advertiser.
The call came in at about 1:20pm on Aug. 11 and by the time firefighters arrived on scene at the Wellington Road 10 farm the second storey of the barn was completely engulfed in flames.
“There was a shed that was near the barn and a propane tank, a gas tank and a diesel fuel tank, so we kept water on them to make sure they didn’t have any problems,” Richardson said. “As far as the barn… we couldn’t save it. It was gone.”
The farm belongs to Lamar and Janice Frey, who along with their seven children were not injured in the fire.
It was the Freys’ son Jared who first noticed the fire.
Fire stations from Drayton, Moorefield, Palmerston and Milverton were called to assist with the blaze, and there were a total of 45 firefighters on scene, Richardson said. There were no reported injuries.
Because the farm owners had Mennonite insurance, Richardson said it was difficult to place a value on the damage and loss of livestock, but he estimated the cost would be approximately $200,000.
Janice said the farm’s hired hand was able to save some of the farm equipment that was parked outside of the barn.
As for the cause of the blaze, Richardson said there will be no investigation and it will remain unknown.
“When the whole barn goes down into the main frame on top of the animals and your hay’s all there, there’s no wiring to check anymore,” he explained. “It was just burned hay on top of stalls. There’s nothing to investigate.”
He did say there were two possible causes.
“We know it was upstairs where the hay was, so we can either assume it’s going to be electric or combustion of the hay,” Richardson said.
Fire crews cleared the scene by 8:30pm on Aug. 11 once they were sure the remains of the smoldering structure wouldn’t ignite anything else.
A group has gotten together to help with barn cleanup, Janice Frey said.
The crew will be crushing up the cement of the original barn and using it for fill at the new barn’s site. The remains of the old barn have been buried.
Janice said the family has been blessed by all the help they have received.
