PHOTOS: A local family lost their business Friday night after a fire destroyed a barn with 200 pigs inside.
It started around 10 p.m. on North 5th East just south of County Line Road, according to Idaho Falls Fire Department spokeswoman Kerry Hammon. The barn was a complete loss and all of the animals perished.
A neighbor called 911 to report the fire as no one was home. When first responders arrived, they found the barn fully engulfed in flames with the roof collapsed.
The fire caused an estimated $80,000 in damage and the show pigs had a value of $120,000. The barn and pigs belonged to Mark Romriell and his family, which operated as MKO Farms. According to an online fundraiser, the barn and pigs were not covered under insurance thus severely impacting Romriell’s business.
“I feel it’s important to pay kindness forward,” said one of the event’s organizers, Joey Ford. “The Romriells have helped my family for years.