Fire Destroys Pa. Milk Parlor, Cows Rescued

Nov. 15--The occasional "moo" and the sound of hooves on metal nearly drowned out the hum of the diesel engines.

Refugee Perrydell Farm dairy cows were evacuated from the York Township farm after a fire ripped through its milking parlor Monday night.

The cows were heading to a farm in Windsor Township in trailers towed by pickup trucks. That farm recently stopped using its milking parlor, and its owner offered to allow Perrydell farmers to use it, said Greg Perry, a co-owner of Perrydell.

"I'm very grateful for the help," Perry said, as he looked through a pile of wet papers retrieved from the partially burned-out milking parlor.

Township firefighters and crews from surrounding departments were dispatched to the 90 Indian Rock Dam Road farm at 7:55 p.m.

"When we pulled up, flames were blowing out of three of the front windows," said Capt. Scott Bowman of Goodwill Fire Company.

Crews made an aggressive attack on the fire in the 30-by-250-foot building and had it out shortly after arriving at the scene, he said.

No one was injured in the blaze, and York Area Regional Police are investigating its cause.

Pushing cows: Twenty-three cows were in a holding building connected to the milking parlor when the fire broke out, said Teckla Tome, who works at the farm.

A neighbor alerted Tome and other employees who were in the farm's store to the fire. They quickly went to the building to rescue the cows.

Chuck Mills of Jacobus said he was driving past Perrydell on his way home from work when he saw smoke and then flames coming from the building.

He drove up to a farm house, informed one of the co-owners about the fire and then started to help rescue cows.

"I was pushing them through the gate," Mills said.

Donna Perry, wife of Tom Perry, one of three brothers who own the farm, thought the worst when she heard about the fire.

She learned of the fire through a phone call and was driving across a field from her home when she saw the flames as she crested a hill. She cried as she first thought a barn that houses the heard of cows was alight.

Thoughts quickly turned to farm employees as she worried if they were all right, Donna Perry said.

Evacuation: Less than two hours after the fire was reported, the first pickup trucks with trailers in tow began to queue up, their drivers waiting their turn to load up cows and take them to their temporary home.

"It's amazing," Donna Perry said. "It's such a good feeling knowing people are willing to help."

Loading the cows was a slow go at first. The first trailer hauled off five cows, the second had eight on board.

Donna Perry kept tabs on her cellphone, making sure each one was accounted for.

CART, which stands for County Animal Response Team, and farmers who volunteered their time headed the evacuation effort. CART is a volunteer-run organization that responds to animal emergencies, said Cindy Johnson, a dairy cow team leader.

Once Johnson learned of the fire, she started making calls to farmers who could lend a hand.

Mark Foore of Woodland Acres in Codorus Township said farmers are always quick to help fellow farmers in times of need.

"That's what you do," he said.

All told, 10 trailers were needed to carry all the cows. It was imperative to get the cows to a facility where they can be milked close to their milking time.

Perrydell milks its cows twice a day, and if they aren't milked, it can cause them pain, Donna Perry said.

The cows are milked every evening and are normally milked again at 3 a.m. Greg Perry said he still planned to milk them at the scheduled time.

Milking wasn't the only thing Perrydell owners hoped to keep on schedule. The farm store is slated to be open Tuesday morning, he said.

"We don't have off holidays so a fire can't stop us," Donna Perry said.

- Reach Greg Gross at 505-5434, [email protected] or twitter.com.greggrss.