Thursday morning stable fire spreads to barn, no animals believed to survive
Around 40 firefighters were on scene between nine area fire departments
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - No animals are believed to survive a stable fire on Rockford’s Southwest side early Thursday morning which spread to a nearby barn.
First responders received a call shortly after 2:30 a.m. for a report of a possible barn fire on the 1800 block of Michigan Ave. Crews arrived on the scene within minutes and found a stable fully engulfed with fire through the roof. The fire spread to a barn just 10-feet from the stable. First responders got water on the fire quickly, but officials say the high winds made it harder for them to put out the flames.
“Any time you have a wind-driven fire, it spreads much faster and your exposures become a lot more of an issue,” says Blackhawk/New Milford Fire Chief Jonathan Trail. “As the heat gets pushed, as the flames get pushed, you’ve got to worry more about fire spread and exposure control instead of just putting the base of the fire out.”
Officials say there were three horses and several goats and chickens in the barn. They believe none of the animals survived the fire, pending further investigation.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal will determine the cause of the fire.
Around 40 firefighters were on scene from the following fire departments: Blackhawk (responding unit), New Milford, North Park, City of Rockford, Cherry Valley, Stillman Valley, Byron, Loves Park, and Pecatonica.
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