Porthill barn destroyed in fire

A fire destroyed a new Porthill barn Wednesday morning.  Crews were delayed due to lack of cell-phone coverage.

Hall Mountain Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched at 5 a.m. to Highway 1.  According to fire chief Brad Lowther,  the structure had been burning for an hour before they arrived on site and was already down.  Fire crews put out the fire and kept it from spreading.

A heat lamp that is to blame.

An undetermined number of pigs were lost in the fire.

“A primary factor in the loss was the lack of cell phone coverage in the area,” said firefighter Matt Cossalman.

According to Cossalman, the 911 call was answered by a dispatcher in Canada.  By the time they figured out where the call was coming from much of the damage had  been done, according to Lowther.

He said that the lack of a cell tower in the Porthill area has been an issue that he would like to see resolved. 

“We need better cell coverage to be able to respond quickly to 911 calls coming from cell phones,” said Lowther. “A quick response to fires and life-threatening auto accidents and help reduce the losses of structures and life.  In this case the lack of coverage did cause the delay and the barn and pigs were lost.”

Lowther has brought this before county officials and together they hope to solve this problem in the near future.

“Money is always an issue and the logistics need to be worked out, but officials are aware and want to solve this issue as much as we do,” he said.