About 40 cattle perished in a fire that destroyed a dairy barn near Rothsay on Monday.
Fire crews from Mapleton Township and the Town of Minto, along with Wellington County OPP, paramedics and Hydro One crews responded to a barn fire at 8550 Concession 12 in Mapleton at 11:37am on May 30.
Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson said, “Upon arrival at the scene, the barn and a workshop located nearby were fully engulfed in flames. The owners of the property were not on the scene at that point.
“We focused on saving the remaining structures and Hydro One cut hydro service to the property.”
Concession 12 was closed to traffic between Sideroads 3 and 6 by the OPP to allow for a steady stream of tankers from both fire departments to deliver water to the scene as firefighters continued to battle the blaze.
Neighbours rallied around property owners Wayne and Lynne Flewwelling and family, and managed to save 10 of the 50 cows in the tie-stall dairy operation. Unfortunately, 40 cows died in the fire.
Neighbour Joanne Keunen said, “My husband was outside and everything was fine. He came in the house and we got a call from a neighbour that the Flewwelling’s barn was on fire.
“It’s devastating to lose your livelihood that way.”
Wayne Flewwelling was taken to hospital, treated for smoke inhalation and later released.
Fire crews were able to save the family home, garage and implement shed and remained on the scene dowsing hot spots for some time.
Richardson was at the scene Tuesday morning with insurance and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs representatives.
“At this point there is no damage estimate available and no cause, as the buildings were fully engulfed upon our arrival,” Richardson said.
“The Ministry of Agriculture will oversee the disposal of the animals’ remains. There is no hydro service to the property but I believe the family stayed in their home last night.”
