600-foot chicken barn collapses after massive fire
The barn was fully engulfed in flames with thick smoke billowing from the structure.
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GUILFORD TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — A massive chicken barn was destroyed after a huge blaze in Franklin County on Thursday morning, according to the Franklin Fire Company.
A 600-foot barn in the 4400 block of Lighthouse Road in Guilford Township caught fire at 3:57 a.m. The fire scene is just east of Interstate 81.
The barn was fully engulfed in flames with thick smoke billowing from the structure.
The fire was so intense that it burned trees behind the barn.
Crews said they had a challenging time fighting the blaze due to high winds.
The entire barn collapsed and continues to smolder.
Chickens moved day before The barn was unoccupied at the time of the fire. No people or animals were hurt.
A former owner of the barn who was looking after it while the current owner is away told WGAL News 8 that all of the chickens were moved to another barn just a day before the blaze.
He said the barn raised chicks to pullets, also referred to as young hens up to 17 weeks. They then are transferred to become egg layers.
The barn holds up to 100,000 chickens, but it’s unclear how many were moved.
Lighthouse Road was shut down for an extended period of time while crews were at the scene.
At this time, it’s unclear what started the fire.
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