SUSSEX COUNTY, Va. -- An undetermined number of hogs were killed and a building was damaged when a Smithfield Foods hog house caught fire on Monday afternoon in Wakefield, Virginia.
Crews were called out to Munford Lane just after 1 p.m. Monday, and officials are still working to determine how many animals were killed in the blaze.
"[The fire] was contained to the one hog house, it didn't spread to any others," Sussex Chief of Emergency Services Nick Sheffield told News 3.
"I can tell you it's roughly 700 hogs in any given hog house there. But I do not know the total number lost because of the fire," Sheffield added.
No firefighters were hurt putting out the fire, which remains under investigation.
Crews from six area volunteer fire departments responded to the blaze, including Wakefield, Waverly, Sussex Courthouse, Stony Creek, Dendron, and Ivor.
Disputanta VFD stepped in to provide manpower, or "backfill," for other calls in Waverly while the town's crews were out on the call in Wakefield, Sheffield said.
