Chicken and other poultry farm fires have become an unfortunately common occurrence in recent years These often massive fires on large-scale operations can be absolutely devastating, killing hundreds of thousands or even millions of birds in a single incident. So how many U.S chicken farm fires were there in 2023, and how many birds died as a result? The numbers are staggering.
According to an analysis by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), there were at least 90 barn fires at U.S. animal agriculture facilities this year as of December 2023. While a small number of cattle, pigs and other animals died in some of these fires, chickens accounted for over 95% of the estimated 468,000 total animal deaths from barn fires in 2023.
Let’s dig deeper into the chicken farm fires specifically Per the AWI report, three massive fires at commercial egg operations made up approximately 89% of all barn fire deaths this year
- January – Hillandale Farms in Bozrah, CT – 100,000 laying hens killed
- October – Cal-Maine facility in Bremen, KY – 100,000 laying hens killed
- December – Unnamed Delaware egg farm – Nearly 200,000 laying hens killed
In total, approximately 400,000 egg-laying hens perished in just these three fires alone. Two other notable chicken farm fires in 2023 include:
- April – Foster Farms broiler chicken houses in Fresno, CA – 25,000 broiler chickens killed
- November – Amick Farms facility in Hurlock, MD – 15,000 broiler chickens killed
When you add it all up, chicken farm fires likely killed well over 400,000 birds in America this year. However, we have to note that the total number of chickens who died is probably even higher for a few reasons:
- Many fires at smaller chicken farms are never reported in the media or tracked.
- Local fire departments and officials don’t have to disclose details like the number of animal deaths.
- There are no laws requiring farms to implement fire safety measures to protect animals.
The number of chicken farm fire deaths fluctuates significantly year to year. For example, AWI tracked approximately 480,000 U.S. barn fire deaths (95% chickens) in 2022 versus a shocking 1.6 million in 2020. But no matter the year, these fires cause immense suffering and underscore the vulnerabilities of raising chickens in high-density, industrialized barns.
Chickens are highly social, intelligent animals who experience pain, fear and distress much like humans and other animals. When a fast-moving barn fire breaks out, hundreds of thousands of these birds are essentially trapped with no escape. The smoke inhalation and being burned alive is an utterly horrific way for any living being to die.
Many animal welfare advocates argue that industrial chicken and egg production itself is inhumane even when fires don’t occur. Packing thousands or tens of thousands of chickens into windowless warehouses leaves the birds prone to illness and injury. And the air quality within such barns is often very poor due to high ammonia levels from the concentrated waste.
But there’s no question that barn fires represent some of the biggest animal welfare disasters in agriculture. The fact that around half a million U.S. chickens died in farm fires this year should prompt the industry to take a hard look at bolstering fire prevention and mitigation measures. Mandatory fire safety standards, increased staff training, and transitioning to lower-density barns are a few steps that could help prevent these utterly tragic losses of precious lives.
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- What caused a January fire at a Texas chicken farm is still under investigation, but authorities determined it was a noncriminal accident.
- The number of chickens killed isn’t clear, but the CEO of MPS Egg Farms, which owns the Feather Crest Farms, which caught fire, said it is “far less” than the 12 million cited in an Instagram post.
- Fires at farms and food production facilities are not uncommon. Electrical or heating device malfunctions often cause these fires, experts said.
Where there’s smoke, there may be fire … or conspiracy theories. At least there were after a massive fire at a Texas chicken farm resurfaced a long-running notion that anonymous forces are destroying farms and food production facilities to limit the food supply.
“Here we go again,” read the sticker text on a Feb. 21 Instagram video that showed a chicken farm up in flames. “Chicken farm in Texas with 12 million chickens destroyed by fire.”
The post’s caption said, “Over the past two years, someone has destroyed hundreds of chicken, beef, egg, and dairy production facilities. I don’t know who is doing it but it is far from random. Is one reason that food is getting much more expensive in the US.”
The caption named a number of possible villains, from “big pharma companies wanting to make you sick” to “weird globalist climate people.”
The video came from a Feb. 17 Instagram post from MicstagesUK, a British news and entertainment website. We found numerous social media posts sharing the video or making similar claims.
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PolitiFact has debunked multiple similar claims since 2022 and found that authorities did not deem most fires suspicious; most of the fires were likely accidental, caused by electrical or mechanical failures.
A Jan. 29 fire at Feather Crest Farms outside of Bryan, Texas, destroyed two chicken houses, including one full of chickens, news outlets reported. As with previous fires we’ve investigated, there was nothing intentional about the fire, authorities said.
Authorities have not yet determined the chicken farm fire’s cause, but the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office determined it was a “noncriminal accident,” according to news reports.
Deputy Chris Searles told KBTX-TV that, “Somebody didn’t throw a match into the pile or anything. Sometimes it’s just we cannot figure out exactly what happened.”
Sam Krouse, CEO of MPS Egg Farms, which owns Feather Crest Farms, confirmed to PolitiFact in an email that authorities determined the fire was accidental, and said the cause is still under investigation.
Krouse said the company is not disclosing the number of chickens killed, “but it is far less than 12 million.”
That number “reflects our total number of laying hens nationwide, not the number in the one barn impacted by the fire,” he said.
Although how many chickens died in the fire is unclear, similar fires in recent years have killed tens of thousands of chickens. A 2022 fire that destroyed one chicken house at a Lebanon, Pennsylvania, farm killed about 250,000 chickens. A 2023 fire in a Bozrah, Connecticut, chicken coop killed about 100,000 chickens.
Fires at chicken farms and food processing plants are common. A 2022 National Fire Protection Association report found that from 2014 to 2018, there were about 930 structure fires annually at livestock or poultry storage facilities, which includes barns, stockyards and animal pens. Heating equipment or electrical equipment malfunctions were those fires’ leading causes, the report said.
Birgitte Messerschmidt, the association’s research director, told PolitiFact in 2022 that fires at food production sites are “nothing out of the ordinary.”
Animal Welfare Institute data shows that in 2023, more than 480,000 animals were killed in barn fires. That total includes about 300,000 chickens killed in fires at farms in Connecticut and Delaware. In 2020, 1.6 million animals died in barn fires, the institute said.
So far this year, more than 31,000 farm animals have died in fires, the institute said. Its data counted 10,000 chickens killed in the Texas fire but noted that the number is believed to be much higher.
The institute’s 2022 report on barn fires said “improper use of or malfunctioning heating devices and other electrical malfunctions” were suspected or determined to be what caused most of the fires.
An Instagram post claimed a Texas farm fire that killed 12 million chickens was part of a larger conspiracy to attack the nation’s food supply. The number of chickens killed, although undisclosed, was far fewer, said the farm’s CEO. And authorities have ruled the fire a “noncriminal accident.”
The claim is False.
Instagram post, Feb. 21, 2024 (archived)
Email interview, Sam Krouse, CEO of MPS Egg Farms, Feb. 23, 2024
National Fire Protection Association, Conspiracy Theory Brewing Over Chicken Farm Fires Is False, Experts Say, Feb. 1, 2023
National Fire Protection Association, Nothing to See Here, May 1, 2022
National Fire Protection Association, Fires in Animal Housing Facilities, 2022 report
Animal Welfare Institute, 2023 Barn Fire Statistics By State, updated Jan. 1, 2024
Animal Welfare Institute, 1.6+ Million Farm Animals Died in Barn Fires in 2020, Dec. 15, 2020
Animal Welfare Institute, 2024 Barn Fire Statistics By State, accessed Feb. 23, 2024
Around 3,000 chickens killed in Johnston poultry farm fire
FAQ
How many fires occurred in 2023?
Overall Wildfire Activity Reported to NICC
In 2023, there were 56,580 wildfires that burned 2,693,910 acres. The total number of fires and acres burned were both below the five and ten-year averages.
How many chickens are in the US in 2023?
In 2023, the number of all chickens in the United States totaled around 522 million.
How many acres did wildfires burn in 2023?
According to statistics published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), a total of 7,386 wildfires burned a total of 332,822 acres (134,688 hectares) in the U.S. state of California in 2023.