AFTON – More than 70 head of cattle were lost in a tragic barn fire that destroyed a 10,000 square foot dairy barn on State Highway 41 in the Town of Afton, early Tuesday morning.
Firefighters from at least nine area companies spanning both Broome and Chenango counties were first alerted to the blaze at 115 highway 41 just after 1 a.m.
While the farm lies a mere three and a half miles southwest of the village of Afton, authorities attribute delayed response to icy roads and the proximity to a water supply-a pond nearly a mile and a half from the scene.
According to a source related to the family, the two-story barn was full of hay and approximately 100 farm animals including donkeys, pigs, rabbits and calves; the majority of them holstein milking cows that became entrapped in the structure as fire crews took a defensive approach to knocking down the blaze.
Afton Fire Chief Blane Reiling indicated that the structure was completely engulfed upon arrival to the scene and that the metal roof of the structure collapsed shortly after that.
More than 100 firefighters worked for several hours – some into the afternoon – to extinguish “hot spots” with the use of contracted excavator to move the hot debris.
Management at the Afton Fairgrounds have opened a barn to shelter animals that survived the fire. The farm's heifer stock were unharmed in another barn on the farm property. Chenango County Tax records indicate the property at 115 State Highway 41 which borders Broome and Chenango counties is owned by Paul Faigle. Faigle is also listed as a board member of the Afton Fair association.
According to Broome County Bureau of Fire Investigation, the matter is still under investigation, but is not considered to be of suspicious nature at this time. No injuries were reported.