A fire at an Ohio hog farm located about 25 miles southwest of Columbus resulted in the loss of 6,000 pigs, says Chief Brian Bennington of the City of London Fire Department.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 11:45 a.m. after a fire broke out at Fine Oak Farms in London, Ohio. As the crews arrived, Bennington observed a large column of smoke visible from a distance and notified dispatch to upgrade the incident to a working commercial structure fire, requesting additional resources.
Two of five large agricultural buildings were “heavily involved in fire” as firefighters arrived, Bennington says. Multiple fire departments arrived on scene to assist with efforts to stop the fire. In total, the farm housed about 7,500 head.
“Firefighters faced extremely challenging conditions throughout the incident,” the report says. “Sustained winds of approximately 20 miles per hour, with gusts reaching up to 35 miles per hour, significantly accelerated fire spread and complicated suppression efforts. These high winds made it extremely difficult to contain forward fire progression and created rapidly changing fire behavior conditions across the large agricultural complex.”
Crews worked long hours to bring the fire under control. Extensive water-shuttle operations were required due to rural water-supply limitations in the area, the report notes.
Although no people were hurt in the fire, it did result in the loss of an estimated 6,000 hogs and a significant portion of the agricultural structures were destroyed.
The fire is currently under investigation by the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office to determine the cause and origin. At this time, Bennington says there is no suspicion of arson and no ongoing threat to the general public.
