Around 6,000 chickens have been killed in an overnight fire at a farm in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the blaze ripped through a large farm shed on the Crosscavanagh Road in Dungannon on Sunday night (September 13).
Firefighters brought the fire under control using eight fire appliances and six crews. It took crews almost four hours to deal with the ignition, the NIFRS said.
A spokesperson for the NIFRS added: “At 10:37pm on Sunday, firefighters were called to a fire involving a large farm shed.
Eight appliances from Dungannon Fire Station, Pomeroy Fire Station, Cookstown Fire Station, Portadown Fire Station, Lisburn Fire Station and Dungiven Fire Station attended the incident including an aerial appliance, a water tanker and a command support unit.
“Firefighters worked hard in challenging conditions to prevent the fire spreading and used three jets to extinguish the blaze. Approximately 6,000 chickens were killed in the incident.
“The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental ignition and the incident was dealt with by 2:33am on Monday, September 14.”
2,000 pigs killed in farm blaze
This is the second large-scale fire to occur on a farm in Northern Ireland as up to 2,000 pigs died in a large blaze that broke out on a farm on Monday (September 7).
The incident occurred in Kilkeel, Co. Down, shortly before 9:00pm.
In a statement to AgriLand, a spokesperson for NIFRS confirmed:
“At 8:54pm on Monday, September 7, firefighters were called to a fire involving a large farm shed on the Carrigenagh Road in Kilkeel.
Four fire appliances attended the incident – two from Kilkeel Fire Station, one from Newcastle Fire Station, one from Warrenpoint Fire Station, along with the Animal Rescue Team, a command support unit and a water tanker.
“Firefighters worked for in difficult conditions to prevent the fire spreading to adjacent buildings; however, it is believed that approximately 1,500–2,000 pigs have perished as a result of the blaze.
“The fire was brought under control by 11:50pm and the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental ignition,” the fire service representative concluded.
