Cooperstown News Bureau

A flock of old English game birds perished early Monday morning when an 80-foot-by-30-foot, two-story barn at 139 Brickhouse Road in the town of Otsego, burned to the ground.

The barn, which was uninsured, belonged to Stephen and Barbara Purcell.

Stephen Purcell estimated 80 show birds died.

"I kept them as a hobby. They were special to me," said Purcell, who started showing birds as a youngster at the Cobleskill Fair.

He had been breeding game birds for about 20 years at his farm, he said, sometimes selling them to 4-H members and others.

Purcell said at night he usually sleeps lightly, listening for the chickens, who will stir when an animal that might attack is nearby.

On Sunday night, however, "I never heard a sound," he said. "I think the smoke may have gotten to them first.

"What woke me up was the roaring sound. I looked up and the ceiling was red," he said.

He peered out the window and saw the top of the chicken barn on fire.

"The roof was completely engulfed," said Purcell, who theorized that vented gable ends helped the fire spread quickly.

Firefighters from Fly Creek, Springfield, Schuyler Lake and Richfield Springs responded to the alarm, but the design of the chicken barn — with concrete floors on both stories — made it hard to put the fire out, Purcell said.

The thin concrete floor on the second story, an asset when cleaning up after chickens, was a liability when it collapsed during the blaze, he said.

"It made it hard to put out the timbers underneath it," Purcell said.

Firefighters fought the blaze for three hours before dousing it, he said.

Lyle "Butch" Jones Jr., Otsego County emergency services coordinator, said the fire was likely caused by an electrical fault, perhaps in wiring that ran from the weatherhead to the service panel in the barn.

Purcell said he removed insurance from the barn some time ago.

"I felt I was a little bit over-insured at the time," he said. He maintains insurance on his house and main barn, he said.

Purcell said he's still mulling over whether to rebuild the barn and raise another flock of game birds.

"I have a few birds left," he said, "but I haven't decided what to do yet."