Purdue University barn burns, heat lamp for caged birds

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Purdue University barn burns
Associated Press

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A heat lamp for caged birds may have caused a barn owned by Purdue University to burn to the ground, firefighters said.

Firefighters with five departments tried unsuccessfully to save the barn Wednesday at the Cunningham Forestry Farm.

The barn was used to store equipment used to maintain the 80-acre property that is mostly forested, said Chris Sigurdson, head of Purdue's Department of Agricultural Communication.

Two tractors and other equipment were lost in the fire, as well as some caged quail kept as pets by a couple who rent a house on the property.

A heat lamp used to warm the quail may have caused the fire, said Randolph Township Volunteer Fire Chief Keith Barker.

Replacement costs will be about $50,000 for the barn and about $20,000 for the tractors, Sigurdson said.

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