KURTEN, Texas — The day after a fire engulfed two buildings at Feather Crest Farms in Kurten, officials confirmed the fire has been fully contained.
- A crew of firefighters stayed at the site overnight to monitor the fire.
- Firefighters continue checking the site periodically to make sure nothing rekindles.
- Construction workers say they're out of a job while plant workers say they returned to work the next day.
- SEE MORE: Multiple fire agencies respond to large fire at Kurten chicken farm
BROADCAST SCRIPT:
I’m Simona Barca live in Kurten, just outside of Bryan. Last night, I was showing you the plant behind me as it was completely engulfed in flames.
Tonight, as you can see it's a much quieter scene – I've confirmed with fire officials the fire is 100% contained and crews are periodically monitoring the site to make sure nothing rekindles.
Quiet – that's how many residents describe the city of Kurten.
“We kind of like it like that," Kurten resident Clay Greenwelge said.
Monday night – that wasn't the case.
“Evacuate the building, evacuate the building," emergency radios ordered.
“We were in the kitchen. And I heard a fire truck go by, and then heard another fire truck go by, and I thought okay, maybe there's a fire," Greenwelge said.
“Can you confirm that the fire started in the new construction building?" I asked.
“It did appear that way," Fire Chief Matthew Drennan said.
Fire Chief Drennan said they can't confirm the cause or the location yet – but it does seem that the fire started in the new construction building.
I spoke with some workers who were working at the plant yesterday – one of them was a construction worker in that new building. He didn't want to speak on camera, but he did show me these videos of the fire Monday night – and said everything they've built so far – burned to the ground.
He said he is now out of a job. Other plant workers I spoke with say they returned to work today.
Returning somewhere between the quiet of Kurten and the noise of Monday night.
I also spoke with the farm CEO – Sam Krouse – he tells me one of the buildings that burned down did have chickens in it at the time and they were all lost.
Reporting live in Kurten, Simona Barca.