PALMYRA — A fire destroyed an empty barn at a Daybreak Foods facility in Jefferson County on Thursday afternoon, adding to the concerns of Palmyra residents already dealing with a foul odor from a nearby avian flu composting site.
The Palmyra Fire and Rescue Department said 50% of the building was in flames when crews arrived. Wind conditions caused the fire to spread, prompting a fifth alarm and a large response. The building is a total loss.
Barret Rehm, the son of the Daybreak Foods CEO, said the building was a pullet, or baby chicken, facility located near their Cold Spring Egg Farm location. However, he says the specific barn that burned was completely empty, and no chickens were inside.
Watch: Fire destroys empty egg farm barn in Palmyra as residents endure avian flu compost odor
The fire department said there will be a fire watch on the property for the next two days. The cause of the fire is unknown.
While the flames are out, a nasty smell remains in the Palmyra area. The odor is not from the fire, but rather an avian flu composting site located a couple of miles away on Zion Road.
Daybreak Foods, which operates commercial poultry facilities, has been impacted by avian flu outbreaks this year. The DNR and DATCP oversee the compost site, which holds millions of bird carcasses that were infected by the virus.
Palmyra residents say the smell from the composting site is impacting their quality of life and has reached an unbearable point just this week.
"I coin it as chicken death fart, I mean what else? It’s literally decaying flesh," Kimberly Wortman said.
Wortman, who owns a horse ranch in Palmyra, was keeping track of the fire while it was happening.
"My initial gut reaction is, like, man, nobody can catch a break. You know, like, no one can catch a break. It's like, what is going on?" Wortman said.
With the fire adding insult to injury, Wortman believes the community needs to come together to recover and rally.
"We need to get together to change some sort of legislation, change something at a deeper level, so this [compost site] can stop happening in our backyard," Wortman said.
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