Connecticut authorities are working to establish the cause of a massive fire that swept through an egg farm and likely killed thousands of chickens, fire officials said Sunday.
The fire at the Hillandale Farms property in Bozrah was reported at about 1 p.m. Saturday. The blaze drew dozens of firefighters from the area and surrounds, AP reports.
Hillandale Farms bills itself as one of the country’s top egg producers, raising over 20 million chickens for eggs. It has corporate offices in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
WSFB reported a total of 21 fire departments responded to the three-alarm fire, and it took firefighters eight hours to extinguish the blaze.
Officials said the blaze was extinguished Saturday night. The cause was not immediately clear.
John Way, a safety officer for the Bozrah Volunteer Fire Co., told AP the building that caught fire was large — about 300 to 400 feet long and two stories high — and housed an unknown number of chickens.
Way said Sunday that he could not confirm local media reports citing The Salvation Army that around 100,000 chickens were killed.
The fire is expected to exacerbate the current consumer dilemma of skyrocketing egg prices.