March 22, 1996

Fire destroys hatchery's barn

       A fire Friday afternoon destroyed a barn at the Walker Egg Hatchery west of Greenwood, but no one was hurt.  The blaze was apparently caused when flying embers from an incinerator inside caught the barn’s contents on fire. The barn at 1275 W. Main Street was a total loss.  A huge column of smoke above the burning barn briefly blotted out sunlight at the Cooper’s South subdivision, east of the hatchery. At 3:13 p.m., a passerby spotted smoke billowing from the barn, ran inside the main building and notified an employee, who called the fire department.  Six units of apparatus and 22 firefighters from the Greenwood and White River Township fire departments responded to the blaze. But by then, the entire barn was engulfed in flames. Greenwood Fire Chief Steve Dhondt said firefighters hosed down the building from the outside, but didn’t attempt to enter because of the danger. “The biggest thing is to make sure nobody gets hurt, he said.  Because the nearest hydrants were too far away, water for the hoses was pumped from tanker trucks.  Dhondt said that about five minutes before the fire was reported, a hatchery employee had just loaded trash into the incinerator in the barn. Embers apparently flew out, catching fire to the contents, he said.  No chickens or eggs were inside the barn; it was used to store egg crates and equipment. Damage to the barn was estimated at $20,000 and to the contents, $15,000, Dhondt said.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

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