PHARSALIA – On Wednesday, a Pharsalia barn containing tons of stored hay and dozens of cows caught fire leading to a large emergency response from across Chenango County and nearby areas.

At about 12:41 p.m. on Thursday a 911 call was received reporting a barn fire at 2335 along State Route 23 in North Pharsalia. Fire crews from Plymouth, Pharsalia and Norwich responded within minutes of the call, and when they arrived they found the barn badly engulfed by flames.

Assistant Fire Chief Milt Blackman was in charge of the scene and one of the first to arrive with his crew. “It was fully involved, there was a garage and another barn nearby and we hit those right away. The main barn was too far gone, it was a defensive, containment response,” he said.

Blackman immediately called for support asking for ladder trucks and water tankers from any nearby fire department.

The farm has been owned by the Brown family for four generations, and is currently operated by two brothers Doug and Dean Brown and their families.

No injuries were reported in the fire, but at least one calf and possibly other small livestock died.

At the time the fire began the barn had about 60 animals in it, mostly young cows, heifers, and calves, said Anna Brown, one of the owners.

Chenango County Fire Coordinator Matthew Beckwith said at the time the fire began the family was unloading hay into the barn using a powered elevator, a piece of farm equipment that acts sort of like a conveyor belt, moving hay from one floor to another. He said the machine malfunctioned and stopped working, and when workers went to fix it they discovered a large pile of hay was burning.

“It appears to be electrical, but due to the condition of the barn we couldn't access the entire building,” said Beckwith. The barn was totally destroyed by the fire.

Anna said the family had been storing and selling hay bales and raising heifers as their main business recently. Each year farmers harvest hay at least twice during the summer months, and the first of these crops was recently collected, meaning the barn was full of hay.

She said the family tried desperately to put out the fire themselves but it quickly got out of control. She said they then called 911 and started to evacuate the animals from the barn. She said an unidentified person driving by stopped and ran over to the barn and started helping the family.

Nearly all of the animals were saved, but the fire destroyed the barn, several pieces of equipment, some vehicles, and did major damage to the two nearby silos, which were empty due to the fact the farm was in the process of going organic.

Assistant Chief Blackman said the farm was well known in the Pharsalia area and that nearly all the volunteer firemen nearby responded. About 15 members showed up from Pharsalia alone, almost all of the department. Fire engines from North Norwich, Sherburne, Georgetown, Smyrna, Willet, Cincinnatus, DeRuyter and McDonough also responded.

The fire generated massive flames at least two stories tall. The heat caused nearby power lines to catch fire and collapse across Rt 23, blocking traffic and complicating the emergency response. Some firemen at the scene had to run as the lines came crashing down near them. Crews from NYSEG also quickly responded and secured the downed power lines as firemen continued to battle the flames.

A second nearby barn, which was housing the animals that had been evacuated from the main barn, also caught fire, but crews immediately worked to suppress and extinguish it. That barn suffered only minor damage.