Fire kills 10,000 chicks at poultry farm

ERBIL — A fire caused by an electrical short circuit destroyed a poultry farm in the village of Resha in the Barzan area on Monday, killing 10,000 chicks, local officials said.

Karwan Mirawdeli, head of Soran’s civil defense, told 964media the fire was caused by a fault in the electrical system.

“Although firefighting teams from Ble and Barzan managed to contain the fire quickly, the smoke suffocated all 10,000 chicks inside,” he said. “These chicks were only 19 days old. They all died from the effects of the smoke.”

Mirawdeli noted this was the fourth fire to strike poultry farms in the area in recent months. In each case, farms suffered major losses, with smoke proving deadly to the animals and causing heavy damage for farm owners.

Barzan is located in Erbil Governorate in the Kurdistan Region, along the northern banks of the Great Zab River. Resha is one of several villages in the area.

On March 5, a fire broke out at a poultry farm in the Chamseermo village area of Zakho, Duhok governorate, killing more than 100 birds of various types, including chickens, turkeys, roosters. An electrical short circuit was suspected as the cause of the fire.