Today, Eyes on Animals, together with photographer Jack Tummers, visited the mega pig farm, Knorhof in Erichem – which had been completely destroyed by fire a day earlier. There were no less than 24,000 pigs at this intensive farm. Only one pig survived the fire – but it was later euthanized because of its many injuries.
The fire was noticed by a truck driver who was delivering supplies at the time, however, it was already too late. The stables which housed the pigs were insulated with a highly flammable material causing the fire to spread rapidly. Within half an hour the entire complex was destroyed.
Stables built after April 1, 2014 must comply with stricter fire safety requirements. For example, the fuse box must be in a fire-resistant environment, and the materials in the stable (such as the insulation material) must comply with fire class B. However, most factory farms, just like Knorhof , were built before April 1, 2014.
During our visit to Knorhof we were interviewed by EénVandaag, Omroep Gelderland, RTL Nieuws and Telegraaf, and we talked about the importance of stricter fire safety requirements, especially for older installations. If the facility had met the latest fire safety legislation, it is highly likely that the fire would not have occurred, or, at the very least, prevented so many casualties and caused less structural damage.
Check out EénVandaag’s report here.
