A fire destroyed a barn filled with livestock and hay late Wednesday night on a farm at 3353 Letterkenny Road in Greene Township, Franklin County.
The first call for the fire came in around 11:45 p.m., though sources are not sure when or how the fire started. Franklin County Fire Co. responded to the call, along with a number of other fire companies. At one point all three fire companies from Shippensburg were called to fight the blaze.
Firefighters’ efforts to contain the fire saved several surrounding buildings belonging to Thomas and Kimberly Shatzer.
The 19th century barn contained not only livestock, but large amounts of hay, which is one of the reasons the fire burned long and hard into the night.
More than 65 head of livestock were in the barn, including 55 cows, 10 calves and several pigs. One cow died in the fire and a calf was caught up in the flames but managed to escape.
Dozens of firefighters responded to the scene, but there was little they could do, as water was in short supply. Tanker trucks routinely sped down the country road to the Letterkenny Fire Department to get more water.
Close friends, family and neighbors showed up during the fire to comfort the Shatzer family and offer assistance.
The day after the fire, many of the cows were reportedly moved to another farm.
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