Barn fire kills 20,000 young chickens near Lebanon, Pennsylvania

By David DeKok HARRISBURG Pa. (Reuters) - An intense fire destroyed a Pennsylvania poultry barn on Tuesday, killing 20,000 young chickens less than two years after another barn blaze at the same farm incinerated 40,000 hatchlings. More than 60 firefighters from 16 fire companies battled the flames for more than six hours at the farm in North Cornwall Township in central Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg, said Neversink Fire Company Chief Mike Nelson. “When these things go, the odds of stopping it are little to none,” Nelson said. No fire hydrants are near the farm, so 10 water tankers were called in for the fire, which broke out after midnight. Because of its intensity, an exact cause will probably never be known, Nelson said. Damages were estimated to be about $500,000, which Nelson said was the estimate used when the other poultry barn on the same farm burned in March 2013. The farm is owned by Carl and Beth Longenecker, who are divorced, Nelson said. Beth Longenecker, who lives on the property and was the operator of the poultry business, could not be reached for comment. (Editing by Barbara Goldberg)