Arson: One arrested in farm fire that killed 4,000 pigs

Around 4,000 piglets died in a fire in a stable in Boekel, Noord-Brabant, overnight. The police suspect arson and have arrested a suspect, Veiligheidsregio Brabant Noord, the safety office that covers the local emergency services, reported on X.

The fire happened at the Coppens pig farm on the Molenakker, according to Omroep Brabant. It was discovered at around 10:30 p.m. The fire department responded in large numbers due to the risk of the fire spreading to other stables on the site.

The emergency services scaled up their response several times, escalating the fire to a Grip 1 at around 11:30 p.m. A Grip 1 regional disaster is an incident that impacts a larger area and requires all emergency services to unite under a single commander. Firefighters fought the fire for several hours, reporting it under control at around 3:00 a.m.

The blaze released a lot of smoke. The safety office sent an NL-Alert to people in the area, warning them to keep their windows and doors closed and stay out of the smoke. The emergency services also closed down the N605 highway, which runs past the pig farm, due to the smoke.