Nearly 17,000 chickens were killed after a fire broke out at a large poultry farm in northern Forsyth County, officials said.
Crews were called to the farm along Pea Ridge Road about 4:30 p.m. Monday and discovered one of 12 chicken houses on the property fully engulfed in flames, Division Chief Jason Shivers said.
Firefighters were able to keep the blaze contained to the wood-framed structure, but nearly all of the chickens inside were killed. No people were injured in the fire, which occurred at one of Forsyth’s few remaining poultry production farms, fire officials said.
A few birds managed to survive, but the majority of the roughly 17,000 chickens housed inside the burning coop were killed.
“Some escaped, but as a general rule, chickens don’t leave buildings when they’re on fire,” Shivers said Wednesday afternoon.
No foul play is suspected, though the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“There’s nothing suspicious about it at all,” Shivers said. “All indications are that it was an accidental fire caused by a mechanical failure with some of the equipment in the building.”
Monday was windy, but firefighters managed to keep the blaze from spreading to the surrounding chicken houses, which were also full of birds. Both the farm and the livestock were insured, so the property owner should be compensated for his losses.
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