Fire destroys sow facility near Lafayette

Feb. 28--LAFAYETTE -- A farm fire southeast of Lafayette burned a sow facility Friday morning.

The owners of the sow operation, Steve and Mary Langhorst, noticed a flicker of light coming from one of the barns at about 5:30 a.m. They called 911 and firefighters responded immediately, but the facility was fully engulfed by the time they arrived, said the Langhorst's son, Lincoln Langhorst. The facility is about eight miles southeast of Lafayette.

Along with the facility, about 960 pigs died as a result of the blaze. Four other fire departments from the area assisted. They were at the scene for several hours putting the fire out and making sure it didn't flare up again.

"We want to thank the fire departments from the whole area," Lincoln Langhorst said. "They did the best they could. The harsh conditions, the cold weather and the strong south winds made the task nearly impossible."

Langhorst Pork Inc. plans to rebuild the facility and the Langhorsts said they don't expect the fire to have a long-term effect on production. The business has five full-time employees and three part-time employees. They will continue to be employed while the facility is rebuilt.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, an LPI news release said.

"That will take time and LPI will work with its insurance company as well as authorities to determine the cause of the fire," the release said.

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