The family at 835 N. Briggs Road awoke at 5:43 a.m. Monday with a barn and two poles barns north of their home fully ablaze. A passer-by spotted the flames from a distance away, woke them and they called 911. 

Quincy firefighters arrived 13 minutes later and had the fire knocked down in less than 30 minutes. Tanker trucks responded from the Allen, Litchfield, and Tekonsha Fire Departments. Automatic mutual aid came from Coldwater Fire.

Quincy Fire Chief Mike Sherman said, "We found the electrical panel. What it looks like was a major short in the electrical panel. We are not going to be able to pinpoint exactly what happened, but we are pretty sure it was electrical in nature."

The buildings stored several pieces of farm machinery, large amounts of hay, 30 to 40 pigs and several sheep.

"There pigs and goats inside did not make it out," Sherman said. 

A large excavator arrived to remove the collapsed metal roof and expose hotshots. Unaware of the hazard, the machine operator broke through the concrete floor and was stuck in a deep underground pit.   A larger piece of equipment arrived to remove the smaller excavator.

Crews remained throughout the day, extinguishing the many hotspots within the haystacks. The road commission closed off Briggs north of Bidwell Road until late Monday afternoon. 

Firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading to the two-story farmhouse 50 yards to the south and nearby trucks and equipment. No injuries were reported. 

Branch County Property records listed Cody Drumm as the owner.  Sherman had no estimate of the loss.