Barn fire kills 4,000 pigs in southern Minnesota

The cause of the blaze in Brownsdale remains under investigation.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 9, 2025 at 8:12PM

A barn fire killed 4,000 pigs in southern Minnesota last week.

The Brownsdale Volunteer Fire Department responded shortly before midnight Feb. 5 to a reported structure fire in the 25000 block of 570th Avenue in Brownsdale, a town of about 650 people located 1.5 hours south of the Twin Cities.

Responders, including firefighters from Austin and Rose Creek and a Mayo Clinic ambulance, found a hog barn engulfed in flames, according to a Facebook post from the fire department. The thousands of pigs inside died in the blaze.

The cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation. The property owner couldn’t provide an estimate of his losses.

No other injuries were reported.

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about the writer

Eva Herscowitz

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Eva Herscowitz covers Dakota and Scott counties for the Star Tribune.

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