Third-biggest egg farm in US catches fire, 21 fire departments respond to huge blaze that likely killed thousands of chickens

🚨#BREAKING: Multiple firefighters are battling a massive fire at a egg farm
⁰📌#Bozrah | #Connecticut

Multiple fire departments are responding to a massive three alarm fire at Hillendale Farms where thousands of chickens produce eggs with thick smoke can be seen miles away pic.twitter.com/jqTxn4aBsz

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 28, 2023

There have been several major fires at egg farms in the past few years.

In December 2022, a fire caused $12 million in damages and killed a reported 250,000 chickens at a large poultry farm in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, according to WGAL.

In October 2022, approximately 7,000 chickens were incinerated in a farm fire in Lexington, South Carolina.

In February 2020, a blaze at the Michael Foods farm killed approximately 400,000 chickens.

In December 2020, around 240,000 chickens died when a fire burned three barns in Pasco County, Florida. The fire happened at a Cal-Maine-operated egg farm, which is “one the largest producer and distributor of shell eggs in the United States. It sells under brands including Egg-Land’s Best and Land O’ Lakes,” according to CBS News.

The Animal Welfare Institute reported that nearly 1.3 million cage-free hens “perished in potentially preventable barn fires” in 2020.

In December, egg prices skyrocketed 60% more than a year prior, according to Consumer Price Index data.

In California, the average retail price of eggs went from $2.35 a year ago to $7.37 this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The worst outbreak of avian flu on record has caused egg and poultry prices to surge. More than 58 million birds from commercial and backyard flocks have been affected by avian influenza in the past year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.