Seventeen Dairy cows perish in barn fire - Cowsmo

Seventeen Dairy cows perish in barn fire

It was a horrific scene no farmer ever wants to see—a barn filled with animals being destroyed by a fire.

Early Friday morning, Richard and Sally Swartz watched their barn just east of Motley in northern Minnesota burn to the ground.

“It has not been a good day,” Richard Swartz said in a telephone interview. Swartz said his son, Richard Jr., checked the dairy and beef cows about 6 a.m. and then left the property, and his wife typically goes out to the dairy barn about 8:30 a.m. to work.

“It was just a little after 7 a.m. and she hollered at me as I was sitting on a chair in the living room and said the barn’s on fire,” Swartz said. “I called the fire department and the barn went down. We had Pillager and Motley (fire departments) here but that barn is 50 some years old and boy when she got going she went.”

Swartz said they lost all the animals in the barn, as the dairy cows were tied in their stalls.

“The smoke was so heavy in there, we couldn’t get in there,” Swartz said. “We were only able to get one calf out. My son and his wife came right away and the fire department came and we don’t have a barn anymore or any more dairy cows.”

The fire destroyed the barn, 22 chickens, 17 dairy cows and a calf. Some equipment also was destroyed, but family was able to retrieve the tractors in the barn.

Swartz said the family has 200 acres. His father purchased the property in 1955. Swartz took over the farm in the early 1960s.

“I’ve been milking cows for 50 some years,” Swartz said. “And now they are all gone.”

Swartz said the family house, the beef cattle and laying hens on the property were far enough away from the fire and were safe. Swartz said his two adult children and his wife do all the work on the farm, as he is not physically able to do the work anymore.

“At least no one was in the barn as they would have gotten burned to death. I hate to see those cows die. They were born here and they worked for me all their lives. … I have to get those dead cows out of there. They have to be buried.”

Swartz said he has no idea how the fire started.

Calls were made to Motley Fire Chief Todd Judd, but he could not be reached.

Pillager Fire Chief Greg Ringer, who was at the scene, said 16 firefighters were on scene and Pillager firefighters battled the east side of the barn, while Motley firefighters battled the west side. Ringer had no further details on the fire.

 

Source: Park Rapids Enterprise

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