WARWICK — An Aug. 9 barn fire destroyed 4,000 hogs, a barn, and dealt an estimated $1 million in damage.
The blaze broke out just before 8 p.m. on Arkona Road at Warwick Township, 45 minutes west of London. Farm owner Frank Sweeney, 57, of Arkford Farms, said the barn was insured and the insurance company had been out to survey the scene.
The weeks since the fire have been slow, Sweeney said in a low voice on the phone. People have phoned with condolences, and come by to drop off food. “But there’s not that much you can do,” he said, sounding deflated.
The Watford fire station in Warwick Township got the initial call, Fire Chief Rick Sitlington told Farmers Forum. Firefighters then called Warwick and Arkona stations for more manpower and called Kerwood and Alvinston for water backup.
The barn, a steel and concrete construction built in 1998, was a total loss. “It was totally engulfed when we got there,” said Sitlington. All 4,000 pigs were destroyed.
The barn was relatively isolated, so nobody was injured and no other property was damaged, he said.
The cause of the fire was undetermined.
