Around 5,000 birds were killed when a chicken barn went up in flames early Monday morning in Abbotsford, but fire crews were able to stop the blaze from destroying an adjacent barn with another 5,000 birds inside.
The fire began sometime around 6:30 a.m. at a chicken operation with four different barns on Tolmie Road in east Abbotsford.
Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service assistant chief Ron Hull said flames were shooting out of the roof of the length of one barn, with flames moving into a second barn when crews first arrived on the scene.
While the fire did collapse a portion of the second barn's roof, Hull said the birds inside were still alive after the blaze was extinguished, although a veterinarian was en route to determine their health.
"We still have all the birds, at this point, alive," Hull said.