5,000 Pigs Killed

5,000 pigs were killed on Thursday evening by a fire in a farm near Spoordonk village, between Eindhoven and Tilburg.

The fire broke out around 7:00 pm in the pig farm Van der Meijden at the Langedonksedijk in Spoordonk near Oirschot. The fire completely burned down three stables. Van der Meijden held 5800 piglets and sows, 800 of which survived the blaze. According to Fire Chief Ton Driessen, four other stables and the main building of the farm were spared.

The fire brigade at first had trouble with the water supply and had to bring in additional units. Water was also extracted from the small river Beerze. The fire was extinguished after several hours and the signal “all clear” was given at 9:05 pm. The fire is suspected to have started in the air scrubber of the stable. An air scrubber is used to reduce emissions of dangerous substances, especially ammonia. About the exact cause of the fire, the fire chief could not say anything.

Local residents in the immediate vicinity of the pig farm had to keep their windows and doors closed. In the stables no asbestos was used during the construction.