Darlington Barn Destroyed By Fire

DARLINGTON, MD — Part of a former dairy farm dating to the 1800s was completely destroyed Monday morning by fire, officials said. The two-alarm barn fire required two hours to control, the Office of the State Fire Marshal reported.

At 5:41 a.m., crews were dispatched to the 2100 block of Trappe Church Road for a working barn fire, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association.

According to investigators, a neighbor had discovered the fire and notified authorities.

About 50 firefighters from the Darlington Volunteer Fire Company and surrounding agencies worked to bring the fire under control for two hours. The Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company reported that its crew was at the scene supporting the firefighting operations for three-and-a-half hours.

The fire marshal said the structure that housed the 19th-century Winstone dairy farm was a complete loss, with $20,000 in damage; there was $10,000 in structural damage to the barn, while $10,000 worth of items inside the barn were lost in the fire as well.

"The fire department did a fantastic job," Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire told Patch. "They prevented the fire from spreading."

A guest house and main residence on the property were untouched by the flames, he said.

Nobody was injured, according to the fire marshal, who reported the origin and cause of the blaze remained under investigation.

Because of the damage caused by the fire, Alkire said the cause and origin may never be found.

"The barn collapsed in on itself," Alkire said, which destroyed evidence that could provide an idea of what happened. "That's going to greatly hinder our ability to [find] our area of origin" of the fire.

As of Tuesday, he said there were no indications that there was anything suspicious. But because of the total destruction of the barn, he said: "This could be a case where it’s undetermined" what caused the fire to start.

Photo above courtesy of the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Main photos of the fire courtesy of John Gallagher, Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company.