Fire Destroys Large Chicken House at Connecticut Egg Production Complex

Jan. 30, 2023

A 3-alarm blaze at the Hillandale Farms property in Bozrah, Conn., killed as many as 100,000 egg-laying hens this past weekend.

Andy Hanacek

A large fire destroyed a two-story chicken house at an egg production facility in Bozrah, Conn., over the weekend, killing a large number of chickens living in the house.

The 3-alarm blaze at the Hillandale Farms property in eastern Connecticut burned for hours and took out a 400-by-50-foot chicken house. The Connecticut Department of Agriculture reported that the fire killed as many as 100,000 egg-laying hens, but it was contained to a single house on the complex, with fire crews keeping 13 other chicken houses on the property safe from fire damage.

The fire broke out around 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, and was extinguished by evening. The cause of the fire remains unknown, and no employees were injured in the fire. Connecticut Department of Agriculture officials did not expect that the fire would result in a shortage in the egg supply or higher egg prices, despite the number of hens lost.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.