Firefighters battled a huge fire Monday evening that enveloped an egg-producing facility owned by Zoetis in Charles City.
Eight area fire departments joined to help Charles City firefighters fight the blaze in a building about a quarter mile west of the Zoetis main production facilities along Highway 14.
The call went out shortly before 5 p.m. and firefighters were at the scene until almost 11 p.m.
The building housed chickens, and was just built over the last year, according to Charles City Fire Chief Eric Whipple. The building was officially opened in March.
The structure is owned by Zoetis LLC, according to Floyd County Assessor online records, Whipple said.
One man at the scene, who said he worked at the facility but did not give his name, said that the large building contained about 5,000 chickens that laid eggs for Zoetis’ vaccination production.
Whipple said the fire was just outside the Charles City city limits, so “water supply was hampered initially with the lack of fire hydrants.”
Firefighters ran a large feeder hose many blocks to a hydrant, and tankers from the various departments continued to ferry in water throughout the evening.
“Very gusty west-northwest winds also caused the fire to spread rapidly throughout the rest of the main building,” Whipple said.
No one was in the building when the fire started, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation by the CCFD and the state fire marshal’s office, Whipple said.
One firefighter was treated and released at the scene for a minor lower leg injury.
Highway 14 was closed west of Charles City Monday night as dozens of emergency vehicles went in and out of the area of the fire.
“CCFD responded with three engines, an aerial, a tanker and two command vehicles,” Whipple said, “but due to the size of the fire, and the lack of water supply initially, other fire departments around the area were called to assist.
Fire equipment from Charles City, Floyd, Nora Springs, Nashua, Marble Rock, Colwell, Rockford, Rudd and Osage responded. The Floyd Community Fire Department also had its aerial unit at the scene.
Other agencies assisting were the Charles City Police Department, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, AMR ambulance, Floyd County Search and Rescue, Floyd County EMA, Charles City Water Department, Zoetis Maintenance and Management, Ron Hillegas and Popp Excavating.
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