Winfield Township carpenter loses flock of sheep, tools in barn fire
A carpenter lost most of his tools and a flock of sheep after his barn, located on Riemer Road in Winfield Township, caught fire on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
The fire was reported around 2 p.m. and was extinguished by 5 p.m. According to Saxonburg fire Chief Christopher Dean, the barn was a “total loss.”
Joseph Porco, the property owner, said he was storing many of his tools for his carpentry work in the barn at the time of the fire. He noted that his tool collection spanned 25 years and cost thousands of dollars.
“I used half the barn for the sheep and half for storing leftover materials from jobs and my tools,” Porco said.
Porco is currently set to receive an insurance claim for the barn, but said he was capped at $15,000 — a number he said is significantly below the value of the tools.
The barn also housed a flock of sheep comprised of 15 adults and “5 or 6” lambs. The adults that had not produced a lamb were still pregnant.
“It’s a shame, but it’d be one thing if we made a living off of it,” Porco said as he clarified that tending sheep was a hobby for him.
According to Dean, cats were living in the barn at the time and only some managed to escape the fire.
Porco said that neighbors had reached out to him to make sure that he was OK. One neighbor even provided his construction vehicle to help firefighters move rubble.
Porco said he was unsure on the cause of the fire. He said his theory is that a heated lamp’s bulb had burst.
