Hundreds of farm animals lost in fire at 4-barn complex on Corduroy Road

A fire at K&P Farms, 7150 Corduroy Rd. in Oregon, killed hundreds of chickens, goats, geese, guineas, and rabbits.

A Oregon man who raised hormone and pesticide-free livestock for area health-food and grocery stores said his entire business was lost in a fire yesterday.

Prakash Thombre, an Indian immigrant, said several hundred animals were killed when his four-building barn complex at 7150 Corduroy Rd. burned down.

The lost livestock included 150 goats and 300 to 500 chickens, guineas, rabbits, geese, and assorted chicks. He said he also lost a truck, two cars, and other equipment, and a supply of fresh feed he had just bought.

He said he and his wife and two children went to bed at 11 p.m. and were were woken after midnight by the blaze.

"We called 911 and by the time they came, it was all in flames. We tried to save some animals, but the goats were stubborn. They ran to the other side of the barn," Mr. Thombre said.

Oregon Fire Chief Bill Wilkins said the alarm was received at 12:27 a.m. When the first crews arrived seven minutes later, they found the barn complex totally involved in flames. The blaze took an hour to bring under control. The cause is undetermined, the chief said, and there was no estimate of the dollar loss.

The intense heat of the fire caused extensive damage to the siding of the Thombre family's house. Mr. Thombre credits the firefighters with saving his home from destruction.

Mr. Thombre said he and his family have lived and worked at the Corduroy Road address since 1999. His wife, Kyrmen, is a veterinarian by training who cared for their livestock but did not practice in the United States. Their daughter, Jasmine, is 20 and son, Lang, 16.

"We grew our own food. We were consuming the same meat and vegetables we sold. We called it natural because we did not use hormones or pesticides. Last year, we had the highest number of goats ever, about 150, but it was too much work, and it barely paid our utility bills," Mr. Thombre said.

He said his customers included Bassett's Health Food and the Churchill's grocery stores in West Toledo and Monclova Township.

Contact Carl Ryan at:

carlryan@theblade.com

or 419-724-6050.