U.S. egg producer Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch has suffered a fire at its cage-free Green Meadow Organics facility located in Saranac, Michigan. In contrast to the company's 2019 outbreak, which resulted in the loss of a quarter of a million birds, this latest event resulted in no harm to employees or loss of birds.
Multiple fire departments responded to the fire at 2:05 p.m. on Monday, April 4, 2022. Responders were able to put out the fire, which started in the farm’s fertilizer equipment, before it spread to buildings on the premises. Due to the fertilizer equipment’s elevated platform, a firetruck with a large lift was required to put the fire out.
The cause of fire has not been determined, and is still under investigation, explained Berlin-Orange Fire captain Matt Wilson. The fire squads left the facility at 6:05 p.m. on the same day.
“Thank you to all the first responders from Saranac, Ionia, and Berlin-Orange Fire Departments for a quick response to an incident involving fertilizer equipment that occurred at Green Meadow Organics today,” stated the egg producer. “The incident was resolved quickly and without any injuries to our team members or birds.”
Other fires at Herbruck’s
In April 2019, 250,000 hens were killed when one of the company's barns caught fire. The fire was limited to one barn and no injuries to Herbruck’s employees or firefighters occurred.
In February 2018, seven fire departments were dispatched to put out a fire that started in an egg storage cooler. The building could not be saved, however, no people or birds were injured in the incident due to hydrants available on site.
In 2005, sixteen fire departments responded to a fire in one of the producer’s barns that burned to the ground. The incident killed approximately a quarter of a million hens, costing the company US$5 million.
