Photo courtesy of the Freedom Township Volunteer Fire Company Facebook page.

A fire early Saturday destroyed a pair of attached barns at the Frederick Dairy Farm in Martinsburg RD, but farm employees and firefighters were able to save all but one of more than 600 cows that were housed in two other nearby barns threatened by the blaze.

Farm owner Eric Frederick was starting his day mixing feed about 2:25 a.m. when he noticed a fire in his main barn, which held the dairy’s offices, the bulk milk tank, compressor, water heater, washer and dryer, according to Randy Acker, chief of the Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Company.

With 911 alerted, farm workers began turning loose the 300 cows that were in the closest of the two freestall barns to the milking parlor barn, which was attached to the main barn, as that freestall barn was filling with smoke and sparks were coming in the openings near the roof due to the wind, which was blowing 15 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 40.

The cows were panicked and stampeding, and got onto the road, and drivers of fire trucks arriving had to be careful not to hit them, Acker said.

Already, the main barn’s roof had collapsed, and the milking parlor barn’s roof was starting to collapse, and firefighters focused first on “protecting the exposure” — the two freestall barns, with firefighters going inside them to search for and extinguish small fires started by the sparks in the bedding on the floor.

Other farmers in the area who had been alerted of the fire came with trailers and took the cows that had been evacuated to Pleasant View Farms, from which they were expected to be transported to the currently empty milking parlor of another farm whose owner was making it available to Frederick, so that he could continue with his dairy business, Acker said.

“That’s what farmers do out here,” Acker said.

The fire may have started in a utility room in the main barn, although it’s not clear why, Acker said.

The fire is not suspicious, and Frederick has insurance, Acker said.

Insurance investigators will be coming to the scene, Acker said.