Shortly after 12 a.m. Thursday night, Starkville firefighters responded to a fire that erupted in the lab of a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Poultry Science facility, located adjacent to the university just off of Blackjack Road.
Reporter Pranaav Jadhav reported from the scene Thursday night updates via Twitter. His reports state firefighters gained control of the situation, but the operation would continue into Friday.
Reportedly, the building caved in but there was nothing inside as the building had been cleared earlier that day.
There have been no reports on causes of the fire at this time.
Update 8 a.m. :
According to Mary Beck, professor and head of the MSU Poultry Science Department, the building that caught fire does not belong to MSU.
The building is reportedly a USDA federal research lab unit that has no ties to the MSU Poultry Science Department.
Starkville’s Fire Department Chief Charles Yarbrough said it took about an hour last night to gain control of the fire, and the fire department had three units on scene to assist.
“This is a federal building so we will probably have ATF come in to help investigate,” Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough said at this point most of the fire has been extinguished, though there may be some parts of the building that might need more cooling down after further digging.
“The inside of the building is completely wood and is around 30 years old,” he said. ”This fire was hard to put out because it is a metal building and it was tough to get to certain spots in the building to put the fire out. The guys did a great job putting the fire out. It’s a great thing that no one was injured.”
Yarbrough said they are still investigating what caused the fire, and more updates will be released this afternoon.
Update 10 a.m.:
Scott Branton, supervisory veterinary medical officer of the USDA poultry facility said the building is a 50-year-old structure that was just recently used for ventilation and environmental research.
“The facility destroyed in last night’s fire was built back in the mid-60’s but has had numerous modifications made to it to assure its capability to address the research necessary for today’s poultry industry,” Branton said. “The most recent modifications were made this past Spring and in fact, a trial comprising 1406 birds had ended just yesterday. All birds had been removed from the facility yesterday afternoon.”
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted late Thursday night at a USDA Poultry Science facility, located adjacent to MSU's campus.
