Tipsheet

100,000 Hens Are Fried in Massive Blaze at Major Egg Facility in CT

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 30, 2023 6:25 PM

Some of the memes about the egg shortage have been humorous. The one with the guy holding a carton of eggs with the caption “get her something expensive this Valentine’s Day” was spot-on, but it also underscores a severe domestic goods crisis brewing in the United States. Joe Biden’s economic agenda that’s created high inflation and an economic recession hasn’t helped, but an avian flu outbreak has also impacted production. Since the outbreak, last February, some 60 million birds have been affected. 

It also doesn’t do anyone any favors when one of the country's largest egg producers suffered a massive loss after a fire at one of their facilities killed 100,000 egg-laying hens over the weekend. The scene of the blaze was Hillandale Farms’ egg installation in Bozrah, Connecticut, where firefighters from 20 departments in the surrounding area had to be deployed to deal with the inferno (via CT Insider): 

About 100,000 chickens died in a large weekend egg farm fire, according the state’s farming agency. 

Officials are still trying to confirm the exact number of egg-laying hens that died at Hillandale Farm Saturday, said Rebecca E. Murphy, spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. Damage at the farm at 17 Schwartz Road in Bozrah was limited to a single structure, Murphy said. 

“The Connecticut Department of Agriculture commends the swift actions of both employees and the many first responder units to contain the fire at Hillandale Farms in Bozrah to a single structure, preventing any additional losses,” she said. 

The Norwich Firefighters Local 892 said 20 fire departments helped local firefighters with the blaze, which produced massive clouds of billowing smoke.

Not good.