Police Probe Pennsylvania Barn Fire That Killed 22 Cows

November 18, 2010

A state police fire marshal has been called to investigate a northwestern Pennsylvania dairy barn fire that killed 22 cows.

State police say the fire was reported about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday in Atlantic, Crawford County, about 85 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Fallowfield Fire Chief Walter Hamilton says the barn was destroyed, killing 22 cows inside and injuring two others. Hamilton says the property owners were asleep when the alarm came in and a neighbor spotted flames and called 911.

The fire was driven by high winds, and Hamilton tells the Erie Times-News that a tree a quarter mile away started burning from embers carried through the air.

Firefighters from 15 companies were called to the scene.