Fire Devastates Show Barn and State Fair Pig Prospects

It’s never just a barn. Maybe that’s why we instantly empathize when we hear stories of farmers losing a barn and the animals within those walls. It really doesn’t matter how many head of livestock are lost or how old the barn is, the value of what takes place within those walls is priceless.

On March 26, the Dennis and Twyla Limbach family in Eugene, Mo., lost their show barn and five pigs to a devastating fire that started around 1 p.m.

“To most, I’m sure it just looked like an old barn... but to us, it was so much more. It was the show barn I grew up in. It was the barn where I found my passion. It was the barn where we, as a family, put so many hours of blood, sweat and tears into,” says Joe Limbach, Dennis and Twyla’s oldest son, who serves as an associate territory manager for United Animal Health.

Limbach
(l to r) Thomas, Joe, Twyla, Reagan and Dennis Limbach at the 2014 Missouri State Fair with their Champion Chester White Barrow and Third Overall Barrow. Photo by We Know Livestock/Show Photo by Katina.

First on the Scene
A neighbor was the first to discover the fire and immediately called 911. Unfortunately, the fire took about 80% of the barn before the volunteer fire department made it to the scene.

The fire department ruled the fire as a fluke electrical wiring issue. Nobody knows exactly what happened. The fire started in the center part of the barn where they stored a brand-new utility vehicle, clipping chutes, pallets of shavings, equipment, hay and other items. The fire quickly spread to the other two sections of the barn where the show animals were penned.

“It took basically 30 to 35 minutes from the time the fire was discovered until the barn had caved in,” he says.

As to be expected in a rural community, Limbach says neighbors began showing up to help and check in on the family because they knew how much time the Limbach family spent with their animals in the barn. Fortunately, the Limbachs’ 15-year-old son Thomas had recently returned to the Missouri School for the Blind just two weeks earlier, for the first time since the pandemic started.

“My little brother was out in that barn like clockwork from 12:30 to 1:15 every day during his break for lunch while he was remote learning,” Limbach says. “We are so thankful he was not home, or he would have been in the barn at that time.”

Joe’s father and sister, Reagan, a sophomore at the University of Missouri, were in town for an appointment while his mother was in the house recovering from being sick.

“It was a tough day, but we are so thankful our family was safe,” Limbach says. “Honestly, we've been overwhelmed with the support people have given us. You know, people are willing to give you the clothes right off their back to help you out.”

after the fire

Why We Do What We Do
As word got out about the fire, the Limbach family’s stock show friends from Louisiana, Texas, Illinois and Missouri reached out and asked how they could help.

“Sometimes my dad and I have talked about why we invest so much money into showing livestock,” Limbach says. “And then something like this happens and you realize once again that it really is about the relationships that you build through showing that cause us to keep doing what we do. It’s those friendships and relationships that are worth so much more than a material thing like a barn or show equipment.”

The barn was a physical connection to the memories they’ve made showing livestock for so many years.

“We just lost the physical connection between where we are now and where we started – that’s what that barn symbolized to us,” Limbach says.

Fire

A Time to Rebuild
The family plans to rebuild, but it will take time. It will also be an additional challenge for Thomas to get familiar with a new barn, Limbach adds.

“It’s going to take him some time to get used to a new layout – he had our barn mapped out to a T,” Limbach says. “He’ll figure it out with time, but it’s just one more thing we are going to have to navigate.”

In the meantime, the family says they are fortunate to be surrounded by neighbors and friends who have offered them space in their barns for animals they had purchased but not yet brought home. Friends even stepped up to create a Go Fund Me account so people could help chip in to help cover the costs of repurchasing equipment and supplies lost in the fire.

“I was in shock when I woke up on Saturday morning after the fire and saw that my friend Trent had set up this effort,” he said. “As rural Americans, we keep our nose down and grind for stuff and work hard for it. You mind your own business, and you certainly don’t expect anyone to do something like that for you.”

The overwhelming generosity that his friend and others have shown is something that the family will never forget.

“It was a rough one for us. This fire was something I never thought would happen to me personally. We are thankful to the firemen that tried to control the blaze, and for the incredible set of friends and family that reached out to make sure we were ok,” Limbach says.

Cross in rubble

A Sign of Hope
This tragedy has reinforced their family’s faith, too. One friend, Catherine Haslag, pointed out a cross laying in the rubble after the fire.

“I couldn’t help but notice this ‘cross’ that was in your picture of the rubble. As you all process this great loss, I hope this sign brings all of you some comfort and peace,” Haslag wrote on Facebook. “I can’t imagine how hard it may be to lose something that holds so many family memories, but something tells me the show pigs lost today are about to be the grand champions in Heaven’s beautiful show ring.”

Photos provided by the Limbach Family.