Fulton chicken coop fire leads to loss of 500 chicks

FULTON, Kan. -- A chicken coop on a rural Bourbon County family's property was destroyed in a fire that occurred about 9 p.m. Thursday.

Bourbon County Rural Fire District No. 3 Coordinator Delwin Mumbower said the call first came in as a house fire, but it was later reported that a small chicken coop on a local Amish family's property had caught fire and burned down.

"Fortunately, that's what it was, and not a house fire," Mumbower said. "Unfortunately, it cost them (family) about 500 new chicks that were in there ... That's quite a loss for (those) folks, actually."

Mumbower said a wood stove inside the coop that provided heat to keep several chicks inside warm was determined as the cause of the fire.

The incident took place at the Sawyer family residence located at 205th Street and Valley Road near Fulton. A dollar amount in damages was not available as of press time.

Mumbower said units from Devon, Fulton and Mapleton responded to the fire, but he "canceled most of the units there" after the size of the structure was determined.

Firefighters had extinguished the blaze within minutes of arriving on scene, Mumbower said.

"We put it out with the first truck there," he said. "It only took 10 minutes or so to get it contained."