Firefighters respond to backyard fire involving chicken coop

AMMON — Firefighters extinguished a blaze near a house in Ammon Monday after it was reported by a passerby.

The fire involved a chicken coop behind a house off Senoma Circle that started just after noon.

“(The passerby) saw ‘sparking,’ and so they called it in thinking it was a downed power line and then the sparking actually ended up being an extension cord running through the chicken coop,” said Capt. Jon Molbert with the Bonneville County Fire District #1. “So that’s what was sparking originally and then the fire burned up the extension cord.”

The fire was started by a heat lamp in a chicken coop that was directly next to the house, Molbert said. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly, protecting the house and resulting in minimal damage.

“Thankfully, the passerby called in with the concern, expediting the response and not giving the fire a chance to spread into the house,” he said.

There were no injuries and all occupants of the house were able to exit safely. All the chickens involved survived, too.

Molbert gave a reminder that several fires each year are started by heat lamps and that it’s important to exercise safety precautions when using heat lamps and/or extensions.

“Heat lamps should have adequate distance from any combustible material and be monitored regularly. It’s easy to prevent situations such as this from happening, simply by following manufacturer’s recommendations and using extra precaution,” he said.