'Just devastating': Farming community supports Ladysmith couple after heritage barn fire

Fire destroys heritage barn in Ladysmith The farming community around Ladysmith is coming together after a fire ruined a heritage barn and part of a family's livelihood inside.

The farming community near Ladysmith is coming together for a local family after a devastating fire ruined their heritage barn and some of their livelihood inside.

Dashcam video shows the North Oyster Fire Department arriving to a fully involved barn fire at Yellow Point Farms on Monday night.

The barn belongs to Rebecca and Justin Dault, who run a blueberry farm and have multiple farm animals on their property.

"We looked out our window of our house and just saw all the sky orange," said Rebecca.

"Luckily, we had all the animals out the day before," Justin said. "We brought them over to our other pasture."

The heritage barn, that's now been gutted by fire, was more than 100 years old and was the sole reason the couple bought the farm five years ago.

"The barn is a symbol of our farm," said Justin. "It's on our hats here."

"It's just devastating," added Rebeca. "The actual building itself was so beautiful, so useful still."

The two-storey barn had a large open wooden space on the upper level where the farm would host events like weddings and goat yoga, while the lower portion was used for farming operations and storage.

"[It had] all our contents for running our blueberry farm, plus all of our farm attachments, our feed room," said Justin.

After hearing about the devastating fire, neighbouring farmers came to the couple's aid, donating hay.

"We are neighbours and this is neighbours helping neighbours, and farmers helping farmers," said nearby resident Erica Defrane.

"This is what community is about,' she said.

Friends also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the farmers get back on their feet.

"Insurance is going to take a long time, but they need stuff for the animals now. They need stuff to keep the farm going," said fundraiser organizers Jacynthe Kutney and Carly Azyan.

The owners say they're grateful for the community's help.

"To have the community rallying behind us, that's why we love where we live and just can't thank them enough," said Rebecca. "It's amazing. Thank you everybody."

If there is a silver lining to the fire, it's that no one was hurt, including the beloved goats, the owners say.

"Goats are the best. They're going to help us through this time," said Rebecca. "It's like animal therapy."