A fire Tuesday night damaged a large outbuilding housing chickens, ducks and pigeons west of Fresno, killing an unknown number of birds and prompting the evacuation of a couple of families that operated the business, Fresno fire officials said.
The fire broke out a little before 8 p.m. in the building on Kearney Boulevard near Blythe Avenue. The Hmong families that tended the birds attempted to put out the fire with garden hoses, but they were unable to contain it and were evacuated once fire crews arrived, said Fresno fire Battalion Chief Tony Escobedo.
Early on in the fire, an explosion occurred that firefighters believe may have been a propane tank.
More than 100 chicken coops were destroyed. The exact number of livestock lost was not known. The damage value was determined to be about $10,000.
It was unclear what sparked the fire.
Escobedo said the fire damaged the center of the football field-size building, but fire crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to the ends of the building. He said hundreds of birds were saved.
Two firefighters were injured, said Battalion Chief Chuck Tobias. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion, but was able to return to fighting the fire, Tobias said. The other firefighter injured a knee and was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/05/18/1938222/fire-kills-birds-west-of-fresno.html
Topic: Fire kills birds in outbuilding west of Fresno (Read 792 times)