On Monday, January 29, firefighters from multiple agencies responded to a massive blaze at a chicken farm in Kurten, Texas. The fire started at Feather Crest Farms, a large “broiler operation” chicken farm that raises chickens for meat consumption.
It was unclear what started the fire, but approximately 100 firefighters ended up responding to the massive flames. Kurten is a tiny farming community located about 10 miles Northeast of the town of Bryan, which is incorporated into the larger College Station metropolitan area.
Because of the rural location of the fire, firefighting crews had to improvise, setting up a train of water shuttles and trucks to provide enough water to fight the flames. Even with all their efforts, the firefighting crews say the flames may burn for several more days before they can be fully extinguished. Thankfully, the fire has been contained to only two buildings on the property, and there were no reported human injuries or deaths.
Electrical utilities were temporarily shut off for more than 100 customers in the area in order for firefighters to respond to the blaze. However, Bryan Texas Utilities soon reported that utilities had been restored for customers unaffected by the fire.
System operators must take approximately 140 customers out of service so firefighters can safely respond to a fire off Hwy 21. #BTUAlerts
— Bryan Texas Utilities (@BTU_BryanTX) January 30, 2024
In a statement with 25 News, Feather Crest Farms CEO Sam Krouse said, “The fire affected two chicken houses on site, and we are very sad to say one house had chickens in it at the time that have been lost.” It is unclear how many chickens were lost in the fire or how many were at the farm at that time.
Feather Crest Farms is one of six farms owned by MPS Egg Farms. Overall, MSP Egg Farms has more than 11 million hens throughout the US and produces more than 9 million eggs per day. Several billion eggs are produced each month across the entire US.
