The Verde Hay Barn on State Route 89A in Bridgeport was destroyed in a fire in the early morning hours of Friday, Dec. 7.
Crews from the Verde Valley Fire District responded to the blaze a little after 2 a.m., Verde Valley Fire Chief Nazih Hazime said.
The Cottonwood Fire Department responded with the Verde Valley firefighters. By the end of the ordeal a total of seven agencies had responded including ladder trucks from Sedona and Cottonwood.
Hazime said the firefighters approached the blaze as a defensive fire as the barn was already heavily involved.
“We didn’t make an interior attack,” Hazime said. “We didn’t want to put firefighters in harm’s way.”
Firefighters were able to save several animals that were on the property, Hazime said.
“Unfortunately there were some that perished,” Hazime said. “We had to set up a makeshift animal pen.”
Eventually the owner of the property arrived, Hazime said, and provided information about some of the types of chemicals that were being stored inside. Crews were also able to retrieve some of the owner’s valuables.
Crews also had to pull a tractor trailer from the blaze, Hazime said, so that firefighters could get better access to the property.
For the full story, see the Wednesday, Dec. 12, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
