HINCKLEY – An early morning fire killed nearly half the livestock in a hog finishing building at Ness Farms on Hinckley Road, and took out the building as well, Hinckley fire officials said.
The Hinckley Fire Department responded at 3:05 a.m. to 12340 Hinckley Road, where the building was engulfed in flames, according to a news release. The department got the fire under control by about 6 a.m., but the building was a total loss.
Fortuitously, when the roof collapsed, it fell on the many pens and systems, sparing the lives of more than half of the 1,400 hogs inside.
“It’s kind of like instead of getting kicked within a half-inch of your life, you get kicked within 2 inches,” Fire Chief Jay VanLanduyt said. “It could have been worse, but it’s still a huge loss.”
The total loss is estimated at $460,000, and it’s all fully insured, VanLanduyt said. The building, where young hogs are fattened up for the market, included sophisticated systems for waste removal, food and water delivery and monitoring myriad conditions.
“There’s actually quite a bit to these buildings,” VanLanduyt said. “It wasn’t just a barn that burned down.”
The department and the state fire marshal’s office are investigating the fire, although no foul play is suspected and it’s unlikely a cause will be determined.
“There isn’t a lot of evidence left that we can point to and say, ‘That wire or that system could be the cause,’” VanLanduyt said.
The other two buildings on the farm still are in operation and were untouched by the fire.