LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — A fire that burned for several hours at a Lebanon County poultry farm has been put out.
According to Lebanon County 911 Dispatch, 1400 Mt. Pleasant Road, which is where Kreider Farms Mt. Pleasant is located, burned for more than seven hours.
First responders were called to the scene just before 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. They left at around 9:30 p.m.
Officials say the fire started in the middle of a tightly packed row of poultry barns. The middle barn was engulfed in flames, however, fire crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to the surrounding buildings.
Over 50 fire trucks from Lebanon and Northern Lancaster Counties were dispatched to the scene. This area of South Annville Township is not supported by fire hydrants, so water was trucked to the scene.
At this time no injuries have been reported.
Anneville Cleona Fire Chief Philip Snavely says the fire caused $12 million in damages and has killed an estimated 250,000 chickens.
"With the extremely high price of chicken and eggs right now, it really inflated the value loss of this property, and that's unfortunate," said Snavely.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Kreider Farms president Tom Beachler shared the following statement:
"A fire broke out in the rear of a Layer House at our Mount Pleasant facility located in Lebanon, Pa. yesterday afternoon. The fire was extinguished by midnight. All employees are accounted for, and fireman and staff suffered no known injuries. As a result of the quick actions of our staff and the local fire companies, the fire was successfully contained to the one-layer house and prevented from spreading to other buildings. The overall facility otherwise remains undamaged and intact. Processing and shipping will resume by 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon."
FOX43 is at the scene and will continue to update this article as more information is released.
