Fire chief: Cause of Herbruck's fire 'not going to be an easy one' to determine
Evan Sasiela @SalsaEvan
BERLIN TWP. — About 70 firefighters battled a massive fire at an Ionia County poultry ranch for about six hours late Tuesday into early Wednesday.
A fire started after 6 p.m., April 30, at Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, 478 Portland Rd, in Berlin Township. There were approximately 250,000 hens which died in the building fire, and the company is "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our hens," said Herb Herbruck, of Herbruck's Poultry Ranch.
No Herbruck's employees or first responders were injured.
The cause of the fire hasn't yet been determined, said Berlin-Orange Fire Chief Matt Bennett, adding that "it's not going to be an easy one" to find out.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 6:19 p.m., April 30, Bennett said. Firefighters cleared the scene around 12:30 a.m., May 1.
The building on fire housed four chicken coops under one roof, Bennett said.
"It makes it real tough to get water where you want it when there's essentially four buildings in one," Bennett said.
The fire was limited to the one building, but the resources nearby that are tied together are a mess. A conveyor belt tying the building on fire to a building to the north was shut down.
The Clarksville Fire Department, Sunfield Fire Department, Lake Odessa Fire Department, Ionia Department of Public Safety, Portland Fire Authority and Grand Ledge Area Fire Department assisted Berlin-Orange Fire Department at the scene.
Firefighters worked in rainy and windy conditions. Before 8 p.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service was reporting temperatures at 47 degrees and wind gusts at 11 mph SW.
Tuesday's blaze marked the fifth fire in 16 years at Herbruck's, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in September. A fire in February 2018 started in an egg storage cooler and didn't injure any people or hens. Bennett said Herbruck's added water hydrants so they didn't have to haul water as they did in 2018.
Cars pulled over on M-66 to watch the flames and smoke, which could be smelled in Kent County and portions of Ottawa County, per Ottawa County dispatchers.
Herbruck said on Wednesday the business was fully operational after the fire.
"We have been working closely with the fire department and an investigation of what started the fire is under way, and it will likely take several weeks for officials to determine the cause," Herbruck said. "We plan to rebuild and want to thank our local contractors who have been onsite since last evening.
"We are truly thankful for the first responders in Ionia County, who are largely volunteer firefighters, who quickly responded to this fire and contained the damage to a single barn. We also appreciate our employees for their quick response in calling first responders which likely minimized further damage. We are thankful for the community's continued support and thoughts during this difficult time. Last night's fire will not impact our ability to serve our many valued customers."
Herbruck's lost about 250,000 hens in a 2005 fire.
Police blocked off Portland Road from M-66 to Harwood Road to make room for fire trucks to travel on the two-lane road.
A Herbruck's employee told WOOD-TV 8 the barn that originally caught fire is under renovations, so there weren't any chickens inside. But tens of thousands of chickens are located in the two connecting buildings.
Herbruck's has 6 million laying hens, according to its website. Bennett estimated last year there were 2 million birds at the Portland Road facility.
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.