Multiple fire crews were called Tuesday evening to a fire at a large chicken coop in rural Dexter.
Around 6:45 p.m., a passerby noticed the wood-and-metal structure burning at a residence in the 29000 block of 162nd Rd. The driver alerted the property owner, who then made a call to 911.
“It wasn’t something the residents even knew was happening,” Roy Henderson, chief of Cowley County Rural Fire Dist. 1, said. “It was fully (burning) by the time the property owner was alerted and the roof had fallen in by the time we arrived.”
Crews were on scene for about an hour.
Henderson said some chickens perished in the blaze. A heat lamp – used to warm some recently-hatched chicks – is thought to be the cause of the fire. The building is considered a total loss.
Henderson said the coop was approximately 15 feet by 15 feet and about the size of a small storage shed, but a bit taller. The structure was uninsured.
The coop was on property which has a Cambridge address but is within the Dexter fire district.
Henderson said he was thankful to area fire crews that responded to the scene to help.
