More than a thousand pigs die in fire

By Dan Nienaber

WALDORF — About 1,200 pigs were lost when two of the three barns at a hog farm in Waseca County went up in flames Tuesday night.

Chris Sonnek, part owner of the Superior Pork facility, said he saw smoke coming from the barns at about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. He lives near the facility at 21266 55th St., about four miles southeast of Waldorf.

“I was the first person on site after the fire started,” he said.

When Sonnek got to the facility, there was a fire burning in a hallway between two of the three barns. The two barns connected by the hallway were the ones that burned, he said.

Firefighters were able to save most of the third barn, he said.

There were about 2,400 pigs at the sow farrowing facility. About half were saved and the remaining 1,200 were lost in the fire. Sonnek said he didn’t have a damage estimate Wednesday morning.

Waldorf Fire Chief Adam Groskreutz said the first fire call came around 9 p.m. One barn was fully engulfed and a large fire had spread to the second barn when the first firefighters arrived. It was too late to save any of the animals in the two burning barns, Groskreutz said.

A total of 18 fire departments, and more than 100 firefighters, were called in to help. There were more than two dozens tanker trucks bringing water from four different cities.

“We’ve never dealt with a fire this big that required this much manpower and equipment,” he said.

Jenn Philips, a Mapleton freelance photographer, was leaving Festag Days in Minnesota Lake Tuesday night when she saw several fire trucks heading to the fire. She followed them to the hog barns and took several pictures about three hours after the fire started.

“When you see the fifth fire truck go by and you hear more coming, you know it’s bad,” Philips said. “There were over 80 vehicles there when I got there at about 11:15 p.m.”

Philips was kept about a half mile away from the fire. She could still hear the fire crackling and there was plenty of smoke, she said. When Philips went back Wednesday morning, she could see there were still hogs in one of the barns.

“One barn was flattened, one was in rubble and the third one’s frame was broken,” she said.

About 20 fire departments, led by the Waldorf Fire Department responded to the blaze. New Richland Fire Chief Wayne Billing said his department sent five trucks. His crew was at the scene until about 3 a.m.

Billing wasn’t at the fire Tuesday night, but he was with the group called back when the fire flared up again Wednesday morning.

“It looked like a disaster,” he said. “The only fires we’ve dealt with that were this size were grain elevators and lumber yards.”

Sonnek said he didn’t know what caused the fire. He was expecting the fire marshal to arrive later Wednesday afternoon to start an investigation.

“I just want to thank all the firefighters who helped control the fire and save the one barn,” Sonnek said. “It was a bad fire and no one was injured, so it was a job well done.”