A barn fire at a dairy farm Tuesday night burned for hours, killing a number of the farm’s livestock, according to officials with the Bedford Fire Department.
Chief Brad Creasy said the fire department received the emergency call at 7:12 p.m., and crews arrived at Dawn Dairy, about two miles northwest of Bedford on Dawn Dairy Road, about six minutes later.
Crews from across the county responded, but Creasy said the fire was so far along that all firefighters could do was to make a “defensive attack” on the structure.
Creasy said Dawn Dairy’s owner, Thomas Watson, told him 21 calves died in the fire.
Creasy said Watson put the total estimated damage at about $250,000, counting the barn, the livestock, equipment, and corn stored in it.
No one was hurt in the fire other than the livestock, Creasy said.
Firefighters spent the first 40 minutes suppressing the blaze, but when they were informed there was fertilizer in the barn, they backed off and let what was left of the structure smolder because of water runoff concerns.
Creasy said a hazardous materials team was called out, and made the determination that there actually was fertilizer in the building.
The dairy, Creasy said, was situated outside of the Bedford City limits, in an area not serviced by fire hydrants.
But he said the lack of water supply didn’t factor into the blaze and that workers were able to bring in all the water they needed using several tankers filled from the nearest hydrants.
Fire crews stayed at the scene, keeping watch over the embers until about 12:17 a.m. Wednesday.
Creasy said investigators don’t know what caused the blaze.
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