Farmers rescue cattle as spectacular fire destroys barn
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SOUTH AVIS -- Flames were shooting high into the sky and smoke could be seen for miles when Jacob Heisey and his three sons arrived at their cattle barn on River Road and opened the pens to free 72 head of cattle from the inferno.
Many of the cattle suffered burns as sparks and balls of fire dropped on them from the flames above.
One cow was burned so bad it had to be put down.
The fire raged out of control, as firefighters set up water shuttles and connected hoses along the road to hydrants on Henry Street to get water to the fire.
The blaze had a good head start and it burned relentlessly.
Heisey and his three sons -- Christopher, Jonathon and Allen -- were at their dairy farm about four miles away milking cows when a neighbor called and made them aware of the fire.
Efforts by neighbors to release the cattle from their pens inside the barn were unsuccessful.
"The neighbors told us it was too hot to get the cattle out," Jacob said.
It seems that the father and sons arrived just in time.
They quickly ran to another side of the barn and opened the gates, allowing the cattle to run out into the fields. They were scared and burned, but they were alive.
One of the first on scene was Pine Creek Township Fire Chief Dave Winkleman, at one time fire chief for Avis Fire Co. Winkleman quickly went into firefighter mode, helping volunteers secure a fire hose and direct the gushing water onto the huge orange flames.
A ladder truck from Jersey Shore arrived and made an overhead attack that helped lessen flames from that direction.
Still, the flames shot out of every nook and cranny and gray smoke billowed against the bright blue sky as firefighters continued to play water on the decades-old barn.
At 3 p.m., fire volunteers were still keeping the water coming on what was left of the structure, according to Avis Assistant Fire Chief Dave Closs Jr.
Closs said state police fire marshal Nick Loffredo was at the scene and said the cause is "undeterminable" at this time.
"It's a total loss," Closs said, adding that he understands the owner has some insurance.
He said between 60 and 75 firefighters and more than a dozen fire companies were called to fight the blaze, mainly for manpower and tankers.
"In a rural area like this with no hydrants, it takes some time and manpower to get water lines set up. Once we got the lines established, we had plenty of water," Closs said.
"These old barns, when they go up, they go up," Closs said of the enormity of the fire.
The farm has been in the Heisey family since the 1940s, handed down from generation to generation, Jacob said, as he walked past one end of the barn to the other, just staring at the fire.
He was having a hard time as he looked at the barn going up in flames, wanting to help wherever he could, even lending a hand to firefighters with the heavy hoses at one point and using his back hoe to pull away equipment that was close to the barn.
Hopefully all the heifers and beef cattle got out, but Jacob said he's not sure.
At least a dozen local farmers arrived on the scene in quick order.
They were helping round up the cattle that had scattered throughout a large field. A gate of equipment and pieces of fencing were hastily set up to keep the cattle from going back towards the fire.
"Their natural instinct is to go back to their home," Christopher said of the attempts made by the cows.
The cattle were then loaded into a cattle hauler and trucked to a neighboring farm.
Only when they are counted will he know if any didn't make it out of the barn, Jacob said.
Large patches of singed hair were apparent on the backs of many of the cows.
And some had burns that went down to their pink skin.
Jacob said their injuries will be assessed.
"I always dreaded it… if something like this happened," Jacob said, his face showing the pain of losing what he's worked for all of his life.
"I couldn't get close enough to do much. We got the cattle out… opened the gates and chased them out. That's about all I could do," he said.
Asked what might have started the fire, Jacob replied, "I have no idea."
Besides the cattle, there were hay and some pieces of equipment stored in the barn.
"But most of the barn was used for the cattle," he said, staring into the smoke from the decades-old barn which had been a home for hundreds of cattle over the years… and probably wondering what he'll do next.