At least 20 fire departments were called into action Wednesday night to combat a massive fire at a chicken farm in Marion County, Illinois.
The blaze ignited around 6:30 p.m. at Farina Farms on Highway 37. By Thursday morning, it continued to smolder, with firefighters expecting to battle the flames throughout the day.
Sheriff Kevin Cripps described the fire [1] as “humongous,” with multiple buildings, each stretching 200-300 yards, engulfed in flames. These structures housed over 1 million chickens.
The smoke was so intense it could be seen throughout southern Illinois and even appeared on Doppler radar. A Twitter user posted what appears to be video of the massive flames:
Farina Farms in Marion County, IL, is on fire. They are one of the largest free-range egg facilities in the country.
Structures 300ft away were also mysteriously on fire…
And now Iowa announces they’re killing 4 million chickens because of “Bird Flu”. Coincidence? pic.twitter.com/aytUGUMtvb [2]
— Katie Liane (@TheKaterPotater) May 30, 2024 [3]
What appears to be the City of Kinmundy’s profile shared on Facebook that firefighters were trucking in water from both Farina and Kinmundy, urging residents to conserve water.
Chief Luke Baker of the Beckemeyer Volunteer Fire Department stated his team hauled nearly 30,000 gallons of water over 45 miles to the site. Beckemeyer was one of 20 to 30 tankers transporting water.
“You can imagine the amount of water and manpower required,” Baker said [1]. “MABAS (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System) coordinates these efforts to prevent exhausting resources in one area. This was a tremendous effort by first responders.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown, and fortunately, no injuries have been reported.