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Colony loses 2,000 hogs in explosion ("IT'S BACON!!!!!")
Billings Gazette
6.19.03
CUT BANK (AP) -- More than 2,000 hogs died in a weekend explosion and fire that destroyed a building at the Big Sky Hutterite Colony, 35 miles northwest of here.
The blast apparently resulted from a buildup of methane gas from hog waste, colony President Dan Wipf said.
About 2,000 grower pigs and 75 brood sows died. The explosion and fire erupted at midmorning Saturday in a wooden building 12 feet high, 77 feet wide and 350 feet long. It was fully ventilated by fans, Wipf said.
The man in charge of the colony's hogs had left the building just minutes earlier, and other workers were draining pig manure inside a nearby barn, Wipf said.
"He was just walking away from the barn, about 300 feet away, when he heard a big bang and he saw the door blow out," Wipf said. "We're lucky no one was injured."
Methane gas is generated from animal waste inside a manure pit. A spark by one of building's heaters ignited the explosion, Wipf said.
The colony had no insurance on the building.
Colony officials have not estimated the financial loss of the building or the feeding equipment inside it. The market value of the hogs was about $150,000, Wipf said.
The hogs were buried on colony land Saturday and Sunday, he said.
Volunteer firefighters from the Cut Bank and Browning fire departments put out the blaze shortly after 3 p.m. Residents of neighboring colonies also brought fire equipment, and some remained on Monday to help in the cleanup.
In February 2002, fire destroyed a colony dairy barn and caused roughly $300,000 in damage. The colony workers got the milk cows out, but six calves died in the fire.
End article
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Methane makes big splosions. That guy was lucky he was leaving when the place went up. I bet that was a sight to see., all them pigs flying all over.
Billings Gazette
6.19.03
CUT BANK (AP) -- More than 2,000 hogs died in a weekend explosion and fire that destroyed a building at the Big Sky Hutterite Colony, 35 miles northwest of here.
The blast apparently resulted from a buildup of methane gas from hog waste, colony President Dan Wipf said.
About 2,000 grower pigs and 75 brood sows died. The explosion and fire erupted at midmorning Saturday in a wooden building 12 feet high, 77 feet wide and 350 feet long. It was fully ventilated by fans, Wipf said.
The man in charge of the colony's hogs had left the building just minutes earlier, and other workers were draining pig manure inside a nearby barn, Wipf said.
"He was just walking away from the barn, about 300 feet away, when he heard a big bang and he saw the door blow out," Wipf said. "We're lucky no one was injured."
Methane gas is generated from animal waste inside a manure pit. A spark by one of building's heaters ignited the explosion, Wipf said.
The colony had no insurance on the building.
Colony officials have not estimated the financial loss of the building or the feeding equipment inside it. The market value of the hogs was about $150,000, Wipf said.
The hogs were buried on colony land Saturday and Sunday, he said.
Volunteer firefighters from the Cut Bank and Browning fire departments put out the blaze shortly after 3 p.m. Residents of neighboring colonies also brought fire equipment, and some remained on Monday to help in the cleanup.
In February 2002, fire destroyed a colony dairy barn and caused roughly $300,000 in damage. The colony workers got the milk cows out, but six calves died in the fire.
End article
==========================================
Methane makes big splosions. That guy was lucky he was leaving when the place went up. I bet that was a sight to see., all them pigs flying all over.
