Barn burns down east of Brighton

BRIGHTON — A fire on a farm east of Brighton late Sunday night destroyed a barn, killing the livestock inside but causing no human injuries, according to officials.

The blaze “fully engulfed” the structure, as well as a light pole on 325th Street — also known as Ivy Avenue — just before 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 19, according to a county Call For Service report.

Brighton Fire Chief Bill Farmer said the flames were likely caused by a heat lamp in the building, and killed a dozen horses plus an undisclosed number of goats and pigs inside.

With temperatures right around 0 degrees Fahrenheit, Farmer said water froze fast during the firefight, but didn’t ultimately affect the outcome, with crews on the scene for between 2 and 2.5 hours.

Around 30 volunteer firefighters answered the call, and Farmer said he appreciated mutual aid responders who assisted despite the late hour and bitter cold.

“Brighton Fire would like to thank Wayland Fire and Chief DeLong and the Washington Fire Department for the assistance at the structure fire last night,” said a post on the Brighton department’s Facebook page. “Temperature right a zero degrees, luckily not much wind.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com