Lightning strike starts fire at chicken coop

JAY — A lightning strike caused a fire at a chicken barn Monday night at 296 Old Jay Hill Road, Mike Booker, Jay Fire-Rescue assistant chief, said Tuesday.

“You can see where it hit the back of the building” and caught the back of the shed-type coop on fire, he said of the lightning.

All of the chickens survived, he said.

The coop is about 20-by-20 feet, located about 30 feet from the residence.

The homeowner, Curtis Robert, and a neighbor pretty much had the fire out using a garden hose before firefighters arrived, Booker said.

The call came in at about 8:05 p.m.

Firefighters pulled down some of the coop’s ceiling and poured more water on it to make sure any remaining fire was out, he said.

About 20 firefighters responded from Jay. There was a call-out for mutual aid, Booker said, but when he arrived he canceled all but Wilton, later canceling them, too.

There was minimum damage to the coop.

The neighbor saw three bolts of lightning flash in the sky during the storm, he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com