A Tuesday night fire in a Swoope poultry house did more than $500,000 in damage after destroying thousands of turkeys, a 300-foot long building, a generator and other equipment inside.
Kevin Wilkes, deputy chief of the Swoope Volunteer Fire Company, said a tanker strike team involving several Augusta County departments provided thousands of gallons of water to fight the fire at 2084 Parkersburg Turnpike and prevented damage to an adjacent residence and poultry dwellings.
Augusta County Fire-Rescue Chief Carson Holloway said the cause of the fire was undetermined Wednesday.
Firefighters were dispatched around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night. Holloway and Wilkes said the farm is located several miles from hydrants.
Holloway said the newly formed tanker strike team brought tanker trucks from the Churchville, Swoope, Mount Solon and Verona fire departments to provide water to knock the flames down.
Firefighters got the blaze under control around 9:30 p.m. They remained on the scene until midnight.
Wilkes said the loss of between 10,000 and 11,000 turkeys was valued at $75,000. The burned out building was worth $350,000, and the loss of a generator and other equipment was worth $100,000.
Wilkes said the use of the tanker team saved an adjacent building housing turkeys and a residence.
“It could have been a lot worse,’’ he said.
The fire spread quickly inside the poultry house after it got into an attic area. A nighttime breeze also accelerated the fire.
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