Tens of thousands of chickens die in major blaze near Upper Dunsworth

The 12,500 square metre shed caught fire at just after 3.30pm yesterday afternoon (July 15)

Author: Oliver MorganPublished 16th Jul 2023

Tens of thousands of chickens have died in a shed near Upper Dunsworth yesterday.

Crews from Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Ripon and Harrogate were called at just after half past three yesterday afternoon.

Station manager Tony Walker added there were 32,000 chickens inside at the time.

In a Tweet, he added: "Crews from Knarsborough Ripon & Boroughbridge are currently dealing with a fire at a commercial premises near Upper Dunsforth.

"No injuries reported but sadly over 32,000 chickens have perished in the blaze.

"Significant damage to the building. Fire Investigation underway."

In their incident report, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue added: "15:37 Upper Dunsforth, Boroughbridge - Crews from Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Ripon and Harrogate along with a water bowser from Boroughbridge responded to a report of a fire to a shed measuring approximately 250ft x 50m."

The incident is currently marked as 'ongoing'.

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