Monday, February 1, 2016

Barn fire in Elgin claims 90 milk cows

Ontario Provincial Police say that about 90 cows died in a dairy farm fire in Elgin County Monday evening.

Const. Troy Carlson said 10 to 15 cows escaped. Damage is estimated at $1.5 million.


Carlson said it took firefighters several hours to bring the fire under control due to the large amount of stored hay, which is more difficult to extinguish.


Last week, firefighters had to dodge spooked cows as they battled a blaze following a crash on the TransCanada Highway in central Ontario, that left a cattle transport driver and seven or eight cattle dead.


More than 2,000 pigs died in mid-January in a barn fire north of London, Ont.


More than 40 racehorses, one with winnings of more than $1 million, died in a barn fire in Puslinch Township near Cambridge and more than a dozen Arabian horses died in another barn fire near Mount Forest. 


About 500 goats and 30 cows were also killed in a barn fire in mid-January and a barn full of chickens died in a fire near Listowel.