Springfield fire kills 20,000 quail

SPRINGFIELD — A fire Wednesday morning at Cavendish Game Birds of
Vermont on Woodbury Road  killed 20,000 quail at the specialty food
producer.
No one was hurt during the fire at the farm, which was discovered by
owner Rick Thompson when an alarm on the farm’s power source to its
hatchery building went off.
Thompson said that the large barn, which housed the farm’s 20,000
breeder quail, was destroyed. But he said the barn was insured and that
his family would rebuild and get back in business as soon as they could.
About 14 people are employed at the farm’s two locations in
Springfield, including 10 at the farm’s quail-processing facility on
Paddock Road.
The fire also destroyed about 30 Berkshire pigs that the farm was
starting to raise.