Two-storey barn burns down outside Elmira

Fire destroys chicken barn near Elmira From CTV Kitchener's Tegan Versolatto: Dozens of firefighters braved the cold to fight a barn fire in Yatton, Ont.

YATTON, ONT. — Smoke billowed into the sky just outside of Elmira on Thursday morning after a barn caught fire.

Officials say the building was a two-storey chicken barn in Yatton, Ont.

"En route you could see the huge plume of smoke," says James Martin, the deputy fire chief for the Floradale fire department.

When fire crews got on scene, the barn was already engulfed in flames, so crews protected the nearby buildings from catching fire and controlled the burn of the structure.

Martin says the chicken barn was fully prepared for a new crop of chicks Friday but that there were no chicks in the barn at the time of the fire.

No birds were lost and no injuries were reported.

Four fire trucks from Woolwich and two from Mapleton had to haul water in to battle the blaze.

There was some concern regarding a gas line to the building. According to officials, the fire was so intense it burned through the line. Even though the gas was turned off, it was still venting.

"This never was a huge hazard because it was a wide open area with lots of breeze that carried the gas away," says Martin.

Enbridge gas was on site to turn the gas off at a different source.

Crews say there were natural gas heaters going to the barn but cannot say for certain the heaters were the cause of the fire.

Officials estimate it will cost between $200,000 and $250,000 to rebuild the barn.