A fire in Sumner last Wednesday destroyed a barn and killed six pigs belonging to the Sumner High School FFA program.
The barn was located on private property owned by Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow and was determined to be a total loss, according to East Pierce Fire and Rescue. The loss is estimated at $25,000.
Firefighter crews from East Pierce, Puyallup Fire and Rescue and Edgewood Fire responded to reports of a fire at the 5600 block of Parker Road at 9 p.m. July 9. They extinguished the blaze and spent several hours putting out hot spots in hay bales stored inside the barn, which was used to store approximately 150 bales along with the six small pigs.
The fire is under investigation by the Pierce County Fire Marshal’s Office. The cause was undetermined as of press time but investigators are working with the Sumner Police Department.
Enslow has owned the farm since 1975, when he purchased it from the Giefer family.
“We’ve had that (farm) and raised cows on that all these years,” he said.
Aside from the barn that was destroyed, the rest of the farm is intact, Enslow said.
The biggest loss is to the FFA, he said. Those students rely on farmland and barn space to help raise their livestock.
“It’s a loss,” Enslow said. “These farms are going away.”
The East Pierce Professional Firefighter Union approved a donation of $500 to FFA to go toward the purchase of new pigs or other livestock.
“We saw it was a need for the community,” said Lane Walthers, union president. “We try to help out the community and give back as much as we can.”
Walthers presented the check to Sumner High FFA advisor Greg Pile on Tuesday at the barn site.
“In 30 years, this is the first time I’ve had to go through anything like this,” Pile said of the fire. “Five hundred dollars is going to put us on the road to making things right.”
Approximately 30 to 40 students at Sumner High School are involved in raising livestock for The Puyallup Spring Fair, he said. The students will use another structure temporarily while discussing options for replacing the barn.
“It impacts a lot of kids,” Pile said.
Enslow did not have insurance on the barn, but he wants to continue to support the Sumner High FFA — he has provided the use of the barn to students’ animals for five or six years.
“I’m going to try to accommodate them,” he said.
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