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5,000 Pigs Burn Alive In Massive Blaze In Canada — Powerful Inferno Engulfs ‘Nursery’ Barns Holding Piglets [Video]

By Alap Naik Desai
Published on: 05:12 PST, Jun 20, 2016

About 5,000 pigs were burned alive after the barns they were stored in caught fire. The colossal inferno quickly engulfed the barns, including a “nursery” that was holding piglets. Despite the efforts of dozens of firefighters, none of the pigs made it out alive.

A massive blaze charred a large farm in Canada’s remote west-central Saskatchewan province Saturday. A farm, located near Leroy, which is about 160 kilometers east of Saskatoon, reportedly lost about 5,000 pigs that were being bred in a couple of barns. According to CBC News, Humboldt RCMP responded to a call about the fire at about 4 p.m. local time. Despite the presence of multiple firefighting personnel, as well as local volunteers, the fire couldn’t be contained fast enough to save the pigs. Firefighters battling the inferno, along with police, said they were simply unable to venture anywhere near the fire owing to its sheer intensity.

Barn fires aren’t uncommon, but Canada’s Saskatchewan — a west-central province known for its prairies and boreal forests — hasn’t witnessed such a huge barn fire. According to RT, thick grey smoke rising from the barns could be seen from quite far away. The news about the barn fire spread quickly owing to the photos of the inferno, which were being shared on the social media platforms. Many passersby snapped photos of the huge fire, which alerted locals.

Saskatoon is the largest city in the province and one of the primary businesses include raising pigs and other farm animals. The province has lush green forests. However, the area also experiences strong gusts of winds. Coupled with large open areas, the fire quickly spread, engulfing the barns that stored the pigs, shared Paul Cockell, chief of the Leroy Volunteer Fire Department.

“A large structure like that is a lot harder to fight. With so much open area, once it starts, it spreads incredibly quickly. You go into a defensive posture and save whatever you can.”

What Cockell implied was that the size of the fire made it extremely difficult to extinguish it. Hence they tried their best to limit the casualties instead of attempting to bring the fire under control.

“They were in a mode where they were just moving the animals out.”

After the report about the fire reached the fire department, several fire, police and ambulance units were dispatched to the site along with fire engines manned by dozens of firefighters. However, it was too late for the poor pigs, noted the fire department, adding they were unable to save any of the animals that got trapped within the raging inferno.

General manager Jay McGrath, confirmed Sinnett Pork Farm Ltd. lost their entire pig nursery in the devastating fire, but noted the management is grateful that none of the employees were harmed.

“We are grateful that no employees were inside the barn at the time of the fire.”

Fire chief Cockell added that the fire could have been even worse since the barns were nowhere near capacity. The barns had a capacity to breed close to 25,000 livestock, reported the Express. Cockell also openly admired the local public for their assistance in keeping the inferno in check and preventing it from spreading further.

“We had a lot of people coming out here with water truck. It was pretty amazing. I was very impressed.”

Though an investigation is expected to be conducted, the police confirmed they are not treating the fire as suspicious at this time. However, firefighters who brought the inferno under control, haven’t found the cause behind it. The fire department is expected to spend some more time at the scene, and try to determine the exact cause for the fire that killed 5,000 pigs.

[Image via YouTube Video Screenshot]

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