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(Photo supplied by Ponoka County Regional Fire Services)
destroyed

Ponoka slaughterhouse destroyed by fire

Dec 3, 2019 | 10:38 AM

A Ponoka meat business suffered a devastating loss over the weekend as its slaughterhouse was destroyed by fire.

Ponoka County Regional Fire Chief Dennis Jones says crews were dispatched the slaughterhouse belonging to Family Meats Ltd., located on 67 Street in Ponoka, shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday.

“Heavy smoke was observed coming from the vents, and firefighting efforts were difficult because it was an older building that had been added onto and renovated multiple times,” Jones says. “There were multiple ceilings, multiple partitions, and the fuel level was fairly high with the type of product they had in there.”

Jones says 17 firefighters battled the blaze through the night. Crews were on scene until around 6 a.m., and returned later Monday to put out hot spots. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but RCMP says it has been deemed non-suspicious.

No one was injured.

About an hour before the fire broke out, 100 hogs were delivered to the facility. None were caught in the fire and were later shipped to a different slaughterhouse.

Jent Hoekstra, General Manager for Family Meats Ltd., says the fire is devastating, especially just before Christmas.

“It’s safe to say this will be two to three million dollars to replace. It’s like owning a Ferrari without an engine because we have no slaughter capabilities,” says Hoekstra. “We do everything from gate to the plate; we start with growing our own animals right to making the sausages and bacon.”

Hoekstra opened Family Meats in 2011 and stayed on as manager after selling to a B.C. company in October 2018.