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Fire marshal investigating fire at Koch’s turkey farm

A storage building on a turkey farm in Walker Township burned to the ground Saturday afternoon.

Walker Township Fire Chief Chad Felty said Sunday the cause of the two-alarm blaze at Koch’s Turkey Farm is still under investigation by the state police fire marshal, but the barn, which stored only equipment and no birds, is a total loss.

“All of the contents were lost,” Felty said. “There were three or four tractors and a skidloader in there, but fortunately there are no human injuries to report and no turkeys were in there.”

Fire companies ranging from Mahoning Valley to Schuylkill Haven were called in to help the fight the fire, which was reported about 3 p.m.

Witnesses also reported hearing multiple explosions from the site and smoke could be seen for miles.

“It was fully involved when we got on site,” Felty said.

With multiple buildings on the property, crews quickly went to work trying to contain the fire.

The rural location of the property, however, made water supply a challenge.

“That was the biggest challenge we faced,” Felty said. “I think we had 14 tankers full of water that we had to bring in from off site to fight it.”

Felty said the water was hauled in from around two miles away.

<p>COPYRIGHT LARRY NEFF/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS</p>