More than 12,000 chickens were killed in a fire at a Co Limerick farm early today.
The fire broke out at 4am on the farm at Monelena, Castlemahon, Co Limerick, around three miles outside the town of Newcastle West. Some 12,500 chickens perished in the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.
Five appliances from Limerick county fire service attended the scene, and it took almost three hours to bring the fire under control. There was still a strong smell in the area yesterday afternoon, and a number of people at the scene were upset by what had occurred.
The chicken farm is owned by Connie Nash, a well known Co Limerick business. His son John Nash said the chickens were just four weeks old.
“There were 12,500 chickens in the broiler house. They would have been about four weeks old and fully grown after eight weeks. We think the fire was caused by an electrical fault,” Mr Nash said. No one was injured in the incident
A technical examination of the scene was due to take place today, but gardaí said they were not treating the fire as suspicious. Poultry farming was once a crucial part of the west Limerick economy, but it has come under severe pressure in recent years with the closure of the Kantoher and Castlemahon plants.