9 goats die in overnight Mill Township barn fire
MILL TWP. (WJER) (Feb. 2, 2024) – Dennison firefighters say nine goats were killed in a multi-structure barn fire early Friday.
Chief Dave McConnell says a neighbor woke up the owners after discovering the fire in the 6900 block of Waterworks Hill Road shortly before 3 a.m. and called 9-1-1. He says there was a small wood shop and greenhouse also attached to the barn. But firefighters were notified too late.
“This thing was fully involved and pretty much had already been on the ground before we even got there,” said McConnell.
McConnell says the owners are confident heat lamps somehow ignited straw within the barn. However, the fire’s origin will be listed as undetermined, but possibly electrical in nature.
“There’s just so much damage…I’ll never be able to figure out what caused that to burn,” he said.
Firefighters were on scene for about five hours in all. McConnell says the barn’s rural location hampered their efforts.
“Once we got our truck and Uhrichsville’s truck up in there and used what water we had, we had some difficulty getting a water supply established because of how far back in it is,” he said.
McConnell says four goats did survive the fire by making it out a barn door and into a fenced-in area. No people were hurt. He’s putting the damage estimate at $75,000.