News

Farm animals die in early morning barn fire in Holliston

HOLLISTON, Mass. — Dozens of farm animals were killed when a barn went up in flames in Holliston on Sunday morning.

The fire completely tore down the structure on Concord Street near the Ashland Town line.

A passerby on Concord Street noticed the fire a little after 6 a.m. and called police.

Fire crews from Holliston, Ashland, Sherborn and two other communities responded to the fire at around 6:30 a.m. Rt. 126 was closed while firefighters were working on the scene.

Cows, pigs, goats, chickens and ducks were among the more than sixty animals that were killed in the fire.

"There was no human life involved, there was nothing that was going to save the building," said Holliston Fire Department Deputy Chief Jim Moore. "They had two cows - seven or eight goats, I believe - and a whole bunch of chickens and ducks."

A dozen other animals, however, managed to escape - at least one pig, as of Sunday night, remains at large.

Three other pigs are at an animal hospital where at least one of them has burns. Some of the fowl that managed to escape are with the animal rescue league.

Deputy Chief Jim Moore tells Boston 25 News that police still haven't figured out what caused the fire.

A law enforcement source tells Boston 25 News that the barn was being rented by a Holliston resident and that it had recently been inspected.

The address of the fire matches that of a Facebook page listed for "Brodie Farms". Boston 25 News reached out to a woman listed in connection with Brodie Farms named Rebecca Brodie, but never heard back.

However, on Facebook, a Rebecca Woodward Brodie posted about Sunday morning's fire, where she wrote:

"While it is true that last week we were ordered by the MSPCA/Animal Rescue League/Holliston Board of Health to install heated water buckets and heat lamps, we have no evidence that this is how the fire started. The MSPCA and Animal Rescue League are dedicated to caring for animals. We ask that our supporters no direct their anger toward those groups. While we have yet to hear back from them, we believe that they are equally heartbroken."

The animals appeared to have been well taken care of.