Port Hood farm devastated by early morning fire
Joyce MacDonald

The barn on the farm of Chris Van den Heuval was destroyed by fire on Friday, February 1st. Fire fighters were still on the scene.

Chris Van den Heuval’s dairy farm on the Justin Road in Port Hood was the scene of a fire last Friday morning. The main barn was destroyed, and 38 cows were lost as a result of the blaze.

“When we got here, it was completely engulfed in flame,” said Port Hood fire chief D.F. Beaton, who noted that his pager went off at 4:51 a.m. on Friday.

There were 87 cattle in the barn at the time of the blaze. Van den Heuval managed to get most of them out, but a veterinarian later put down many of the animals after examining them, due to smoke inhalation. Van den Heuval was sent to the hospital for observation for the same issue.

Other local farmers are providing shelter for the surviving cattle.

“As soon as they finished milking this morning, they started coming with trailers,” said Beaton on Friday.

The fire marshal was on the scene, investigating the cause of the fire, which likely started in the milking parlour. In addition to the barn and the cows, all the milking equipment was also destroyed.

The fire departments from Judique, Mabou and Inverness were called to assist the Port Hood department.

The barn was a recent structure, built in 2011.