The destroyed barn Richmond last summer
Before most of us were awake on Monday, January 13, Beth Whiting and Bruce Hennessey of Maple Wind Farm had already received some very bad news. Just an hour and a half after the fire department arrived, their historic barn was declared a total loss.
Though the pair’s home farm is in Huntington, an expansion in the summer of 2013 meant adding a Richmond property, including the barn that was destroyed.
The damage amounts to about $200,000, including refrigerators, washing tools, office space and 10,000 pounds of frozen vegetables.
Reached by phone this afternoon, Whiting was surprisingly upbeat. No people or animals were harmed in the fire and the farmers were able to sell their wares at the Burlington Farmers Market last weekend. Whiting says that although some poultry processing equipment was damaged in the fire, the farm remains on track to pass USDA inspection this winter. She calls the ability to rebuild to their own specifications a “silver lining.”
Selling their own products will help cover some costs, but friends are helping out, too. David Zuckerman and Rachel Nevitt of Full Moon Farm in Hinesburg are supplying organic pork and vegetables for a fundraiser at Hinesburgh Public House on January 28. The dinner, served from 5 to 9 p.m., will consist of three courses, all for $25. Ben & Jerry’s is donating dessert.
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A couple in Pomfret who make their living maple sugaring also suffered a devastating fire recently. They lost their barn and thousands of dollars worth of equipment and their maple syrup harvest. I’d like to see folks help them out, too.
I am not referring to this incident, this is a general comment about safety:
If you own an old barn you really need have the wiring examined by an electrician. In many cases the wiring was done by a farmer and is not only not up to code, it is probably incapable of delivering sufficient current. Wires, like pipes have a capacity. The difference being that if you try to draw too much water from your well you only lose water pressure, but if you ask a wire to deliver more electricity than it is rated for, the wire WILL draw more power and as it does so it heats up, eventually the wire insulation will melt and burn, and just like that your barn is gone.
Old barns may have century old wiring that was originally installed to run a few light bulbs, maybe a fan. You hook into that with computers, refrigerators, pumps, more lights-you are going to have a problem.
Older structures may also use fuse boxes- a lot of people think that if they replace, say, a 15 AMP fuse with a 30 AMP one that they are upgrading their service. In fact the 15 AMP fuse by failing, keeps the wiring from overheating. By replacing it with a larger fuse you allow the wires to heat up and possibly melt.
So don’t mess with electricity.
Lecture over.
When Pete’s had the fire everyone rallied. No such energy this time. Why?