2 firefighters injured in Harrington farm fire

Firefighters from Harrington Fire Company and several other fire departments battled a poultry house fire in the 300 block of Hayfield Road in Harrington Saturday afternoon.

Lt. Doug Poore of Kent Count Emergency Medical Services said two firefighters were injured early on in the fire.

One of them was taken by ambulance to Kent General Hospital, and the other was taken by state police helicopter to Christiana Hospital.

Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael G. Chionchio said in a release Saturday night that both men were listed in stable condition and were being treated for smoke inhalation.

"They were inside the structure when they were injured," Poore said.

Kenny Brode, second assistant chief of the Harrington Fire Company, said crews were dispatched to the fire at 1:12 p.m.

They found a chicken house emitting heavy smoke from one end, he said, and they entered to find the source.

"We had a large amount of fire that we located in the chicken house," Brode said. "We had to evacuate."

By 4 p.m., he said, the blaze was mostly under control. Firefighters still were directing hoses of water onto the chicken house's smoldering remains as of late afternoon.

"With the structure of the chicken house, with a tin roof, we're going to spend a lot of time pulling it apart and wetting down hot spots," Brode said.

He said the building had been vacant, with no birds inside, when firefighters arrived.

Chionchio said investigators are searching for the fire's origin and cause. Damage was estimated at $200,000, he said.

In addition to the crews from Harrington, firefighters from Felton, Greenboro, Md., and other towns were on the scene.

Contact James Fisher at (302) 983-6772, on Twitter @JamesFisherTNJ or jfisher@delawareonline.com.