Authorities determined that a heat lamp being used to keep baby chicks comfortable was the cause of a barn fire that occurred in the 2600 block of Walton Road on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Niles Township Fire Chief Gary Brovold, a property owner saw the fire at about 11 a.m. that morning. The owner thought that she had successfully put the fire out, but returned to the barn around 1:19 p.m. to see that the fire had started again.

Tony Briggs, a neighboring
resident, saved the homeowners’ chickens, which were inside the barn, where the fire started. No one was injured in the blaze, including Briggs and the rescued chickens.

It took authorities across several townships about an hour to put the blaze out. The responding authorities included Niles Township, Howard Township, Buchanan Township, Buchanan, Berrien Springs Oronko Township, Weesaw Township and Bertrand Township.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department and the SMCAS ambulance services were also at the scene.

The 35-by-60-foot barn, where the fire began was considered a total loss.

The barn contained a few miscellaneous items.

There was no large equipment inside the barn, according to Brovold.