An early-morning fire broke out at egg producer Cal-Maine Foods’ egg operation located in Bremen, Kentucky, on October 1, 2023, according to multiple media sources.
The fire began just after 1 A.M. While the Greenville Fire Department was the first to be called, multiple fire departments from four other counties sent crews to gain control over the event.
According to Matthew Lile, Bremen Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief, a two-story layer house and approximately 100,000 birds were lost to the fire. Additionally, Lile confirmed that about 15 agencies assisted with the fire.
A Greenville Fire Department Facebook post covering the event said that its crews noted the fire had the possibility of extending to structures surrounding the facility. However, only one house was lost.
As of now, the cause of the fire is undetermined.
Fires in older barns are more common
Over the last few years, the U.S. the egg industry has suffered several large fires that have caused severe damage and loss of birds. As a result, producers are looking for answers to why this is occurring and for mitigation strategies.
Cal-Maine’s last reported egg farm fire was in 2021 at the producer’s facility near Chase, Kansas. That same facility caught fire in 2019.
Cal-Maine also experienced a fire at its operation in Dade City, Florida, on December 17, 2020. During that event, three barns containing layers were destroyed.
According to Ross Milne, insurance company Cottingham & Butler Risk Management Consultant, there can be multiple causes of fires. However, there has been a trend of fires occurring in older conventional barns.
“We do see more conventional barns catching fire compared to cage-free barns, however, I would not say that they are burning down because they are caged. The reality is, a lot of the barns that are catching on fire are older facilities, and those older facilities happen to be caged,” he stated.
To combat fire events, egg producers have started to mostly build with steel, increase the separation between barns and install fire resistant materials in poultry houses.
