Barn fire in Newburgh causes $600,000 damage

A barn was destroyed in a fire that ripped through it around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

The barn was located at J&J Farms on Craigen Road, just northeast of Napanee.

Video of fire shows a portion of the barn in flames, along with heavy black smoke.

According to social media, there were animals in the barn at the time of the blaze. Reports indicate that the horses were saved from the fire, but there were cows, pigs, chickens and horseback riding equipment lost in the incident.

The quick response by the Stone Mills Fire Department, along with support from the Napanee fire department, were enough to limit the fire to the barn.

But for the Leadbeater family, the damage was more than ample.

“Like my whole life was just taken away from me. everything that my husband and I have worked so hard for,” Jennifer Leadbeater said.

Stone Mills Deputy Fire Chief James Richmond says the barn is a total loss and estimates the damage at approximately $600,000, but couldn’t accurately estimate the cost of the livestock and equipment lost.

1:03 Various animals perish in barn fire in Newburgh

Leadbeater says it’s likely higher with the loss of thousands in horseback riding equipment, animal feed and other supplies.

“The two cows that we lost, we actually bought (them). They were three days old and we bottle-fed them,” Leadbeater said my daughter was in 4H and she showed them, so even though they were just cows, they were no different than our dogs or the horses to us.”

An investigation into the cause is ongoing.

On Facebook, one of the farm’s employees, Val Lacasse, asked residents from the surrounding area to help recoup some of the items lost in the fire. She said they’re looking for spare hay, halters, lead ropes, grain and grain buckets.