Last night, a large fire erupted in a pigsty in Lierop, North Brabant. The blaze ended the lives of around 1000 pigs inside.
The fire brigade reported that none of the pigs housed there had survived, it is estimated that around 1,000 pigs were kept in the 2000 square meter barn, NU.nl reports.
The fire brigade was notified around midnight, and by the time they reached the scene, the barn was nearly completely inflamed. As far as the brigade could tell, the pigs did not suffer.
There were around 6,000 pigs kept in the perimeter in total, across several barns. Thus, the brigade worked to preserve the fire and keep it from spreading.
From small to large
The fire spread rapidly. Consequently, six vehicles were used for water to extinguish the flames, which involved 20 vehicles in total. Around 4pm, the fire was put out, preventing it from spreading to other parts of the barn.
Investigations are still being conducted as to what started the fire in the first place.
More common than you might think
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first big barn fire. Last year 176,000 farm animals were killed in fires alone. Even more were found dead due to overheating when a broiler failed on a hot day.
What measures can be taken to prevent barn fires (which have become increasingly common) in the Netherlands? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Feature Image: Michael Strobel/Pixabay