A spark from a welder caused a fire near Carman, Man., last week that killed 6,000 hogs and resulted in $3 million in damage.
The spark ignited the plastic flooring of a hog barn at the Rosevalley Hutterite Colony. The fire spread quickly, despite efforts of firefighters.
“That was a sad one, but what can you do?” asked colony boss Edward Waldner. “The good Lord gave and the good Lord took.”
The hogs ranged from weanling to market size. Only 250 head were saved from the Jan. 10 blaze.
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The barn, which covered nearly 60,000 sq. feet, was two years old. Because the walls were made from concrete, the colony hopes to rebuild on the same site.
Four municipal fire departments and several area colonies joined to fight the afternoon blaze. The efforts continued into the night.
“They just couldn’t do anything with it,” said Sgt. Doug Sproule of the Pembina Valley RCMP.
“The cold and the wind and the nature of the fire were such that they couldn’t stop it.”
The fire comes four months after a blaze in western Manitoba leveled two hog barns near Rivers, Man. That fire killed more than 2,400 sows and their litters. Damage there was also estimated in the millions.
