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Late in the afternoon on Sunday, Frederick County Fire and Rescue personnel were called to the 8500 block of Woodville Road, where there was a reported mulch fire at Frey Agricultural Products that spread to a barn and threatened other structures on the property.
Due to windy conditions, the fire continued to spread, prompting a call for a second alarm and additional support for first responders.
"An aggressive fire attack enabled crews to contain the fire from encroaching on other adjoining structures," officials said. "Additional crews worked to contain the complex fire."
One building and several pieces of equipment were completely destroyed in the fire, and several other structures suffered "extensive damage" on the compound.
Officials say that it took more than 100 firefighters from Frederick, Carroll, and Montgomery counties approximately five hours to get the fire contained, and crews stayed at the property overnight into Monday morning to extinguish remaining hotspots.
"The rapid response of the farm owner allowed many pieces of the machinery, farm equipment, and livestock to be relocated out of harm's way," they added.
No injuries were initially reported.
The Frederick County Fire Marshal's Office investigated the fire and determined it was accidental in nature and originated from the mulch pile, but not before causing an estimated $1 million in damage.
"While we are left devastated from this catastrophic event, we are so grateful that no one was hurt, including all of our animals that are safe and completely unharmed," Frey Agricultural Products posted online, noting that they are still operating normally. 'God is good. All the time.
"To all of our loyal customers, we are still operating. We are trying our best to get things back up and running as smoothly as possible right now, and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time."
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