Illinois poultry farm fire leaves massive numbers of chickens dead

A southern Illinois poultry farm housing at least a million chickens caught fire Wednesday evening, killing large numbers of birds and causing extensive property damage, according to reports.

Authorities were alerted to the fire at the Farina Farms Inc. poultry farm around 6:30 p.m., Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps told local media, including Fox 2 and KSDK. More than 15 firefighters were dispatched to the area where at least three buildings were ravaged by flames which reached between 13,000 and 15,000 feet above sea level.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Department.

The Beckemeyer Volunteer Fire Department of Clinton County, one of the units dispatched to the scene, posted on Facebook after returning from battling the blaze around 4:30 a.m. Beckemeyer's department provided 30,000 gallons of water to help extinguish the fire in Marion County, 43 miles from his jurisdiction.

“It is difficult to explain the scale of this operation and all the moving parts and complete dedication that it took to bring this fire under control,” the post read.

“Hats off to everyone involved, especially the volunteers. This should be a long day at work today for most of us.

The fire was completely extinguished Thursday morning and there were no injuries, but the 1.2 million chicken farm is likely a total loss, according to local media. WNOI and WJBD were reported.