CROTON — Flames lit up the night sky after a massive fire erupted at Trillium Farms near Croton in northern Licking County.

A call came into the Licking County 911 dispatch at 3:20 a.m. reporting the fire at Trillium Layer Site No. 4, on Westley Chapel Road, a dispatcher with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office said.

“Trillium Farms is experiencing a significant fire at one of our farm locations on Westley Chapel Road in Licking County," company spokeswoman Hinda Mitchell said Tuesday morning. "We do not yet know the cause of the fire.

"All team members are accounted for, and we are grateful that no one was harmed in the fire. Several barns are affected, and we do not know the full scale of the loss. This is a terrible situation, and we are devastated by the loss of our hens."

Hartford Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Richardson said the fire damaged at least two Trillium Farms buildings, with one building about 300 feet long destroyed and another building damaged, but fixable. The cause remains undetermined, but is believed to be electrical, he said.

All the chickens were lost in one building and some chickens lost in two other buildings due to exposure, he said. There were no human injuries to employees or firefighters.

"There was a partial roof collapse before we got there," Richardson said. "Due to the damage we were unable to get inside. It collapsed onto itself. It was so far involved, we did what we could."

Video of the fire on several media outlets showed flames amid farm buildings in the three-alarm blaze, which continued to burn for several hours while dozens of firefighters worked to contain it. Firefighters remained on the scene until about 1:30 p.m. clearing hot spots.

"There's always potential for it to come back due to the wind, until all the debris is gone," Richardson said.

Thirty fire departments responded from Licking, Delaware, Morrow, Knox, and Franklin Counties, according to WBNS 10TV. There were 47 fire trucks on the scene at one point.

Westley Chapel Road was closed between Clover Valley Road and Croton Road as firefighters battled the blaze, the sheriff’s office said.

“Multiple fire departments, including volunteers, have responded, and we appreciate their work and their swift actions to try to protect further barns from the fire," Mitchell said. "We ask for everyone’s patience during this difficult time, as we work to understand what happened."

It was not the first time a massive fire broke out at the Trillium Farms facility. In 2018, a fire less than two miles away destroyed a pullet barn at the facility. Pullets are young hens usually not more than a year old and not yet producing eggs.

Previously:Trillium Farms: Cause of 2018 fire not known

A company spokeswoman at the time said Trillium’s Croton egg farm houses 7 million chickens.

The 2018 fire at 12280 Croton Road appeared to be accidental, fire officials said, although the cause was undetermined. Damage was limited to one building, and no Trillium employees or firefighters were injured.

In July 2017, manure spontaneously caught fire in the 1100 block of Croton Road, causing minimal damage and no injuries.

Firefighters battled all day to contain an August 2013 manure fire in the 1100 block of Croton Road, resulting in no injuries or structural damage. In May 2013, an external heating unit outside a barn caught fire, causing no major damage.

Established in 2011, Trillium Farms has grown to be one of the nation’s leading egg producers, according to its web site. Production operations include pullets, cage free pullets, egg-layers and cage free layers. It process both shell eggs and liquid egg on site.

Trillium has its own feed mills and trucking operations to transport hens and the feed they consume. The heart of the company is located in Croton and Johnstown, with additional locations in Larue, Marseilles and Mt. Victory, Ohio.

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958