300,000 chickens die in Michigan egg farm fire

OTSEGO, Mich. — A fire that broke out at a Michigan poultry farm Friday killed approximately 300,000 chickens, authorities said.

The blaze occurred at a farm run in Otsego by Konos Inc., a distributor of Vande Bunte Eggs, located about 25 miles north of Kalamazoo, WWMT reported.

According to a company news release, the farm supplies more than 13 million cage-free eggs annually to grocery stores and restaurants in Michigan, MLive reported.

There was no loss of human life, but there were reports of minor injuries, WZZM reported. The company’s 50 employees were evacuated safely, the television station reported.

“The first priority at all of our farms is the welfare and safety of our employees and our hens,” Rob Knecht, vice president of operations at Konos, told WZZM. “We are thankful for the work of all the fire departments that helped today. Their quick actions kept our farm safe and we are eager to resume production tomorrow.”

The farm housed 550,000 hens, MLive reported. There were two barns on the property and one was deemed “a total loss,” according to the website.

The fire was completely controlled by 1 p.m., two hours after it was started, company spokesman Brian Burch told MLive.

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