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After firefighters put out the Friday afternoon blaze that destroyed three barns at his Barrhaven dairy farm, Peter Ruiter went out to survey the wreckage. He first spotted the remains of Sequel, one of his purebred Holsteins. Then he saw another, Gummy.
“And then I stopped,” he said on Saturday. “It was too hard to look at the rest.
“Every cow had a name and I knew every cow, and now they’re not there. And that’s the story. I was always proud of what I had, and now it’s not there.”
Eighty of Ruiter’s 98 cows died in the blaze, and on Saturday he was too busy dealing with such immediate concerns as cleaning up the terrible mess to think much about his future and whether he’ll rebuild.
“I’ve thought about that,” he admitted, “but it’s 24 hours old. It’s real fresh to me right now.
“But it’s in my heart. I love my cows and I love what I’ve done my whole life. I’d hate this to be the way to end it.”
Ruiter had spent Friday morning in his barns, returning to the house at 12:30 p.m. for lunch. Less than half an hour later, a passing motorist who saw the flames at the Prince of Wales Drive farm stopped to warn Ruiter. By then, he said, it was already too late to save the cows in the barn.
“I looked into the barn and I saw flames coming out, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to die.’ I just stood behind my garage and said, ‘Sorry, cows.’ ”
A fire on Friday afternoon destroyed much of Peter Ruiter’s Barrhaven dairy farm and killed 80 of his 98 purebred Holsteins.
Early estimates put the damage at about $1 million. Ruiter says his livestock was insured and his barns partly insured.
The farm — Black Rapids Farm, near Fallowfield Road — has been in the Ruiter family since his father bought it in 1962. Previously, it had been in the Craig family for about a century. Ruiter, 48, bought the farm from his father in 1992. The homestead, barely more than 30 metres from the fire, was untouched by the blaze.
Firefighters began receiving 911 calls at 1:03 p.m. Friday. With no water hydrants nearby, they fought the blaze with a tanker shuttle, using water trucked to the scene. The fire was officially under control at 2:12 p.m., although smoke continued to rise into the evening. The cause remains unknown.
Coun. Jan Harder, whose Barrhaven ward encompasses the farm, told the Citizen that the farm was a “prominent landmark” and its loss a tragedy.
“It’s very sad. I’m glad that he escaped the barn, but it must have been awfully hard for him to do that,” she said. “I’m hoping he can rebuild, that he has the heart to. I think we’ve lost an important part of Barrhaven.”
At noon on Saturday, five animal-rights activists gathered outside Ruiter’s farm for a “vigil,” at which they waved signs reading “Honk to show your compassion for all animals” and “Not your mom, not your milk.”
“It’s incorrect,” Ruiter said of the demonstrators. “My cows are my life and some of the comments I’ve heard …
“The day they lose a loved one that they care about and then have someone criticize you after you’ve looked after them their whole life, it’s wrong.”
He was relieved, he added, that all the cows were at least accounted for. And for now he’ll continue with the 18 that survived.
“I’ve always tried to be positive and look at what’s coming next,” he said. “I’ve got six cows at a neighbour’s and they’ll all have calves in the next two weeks.
“That’s my future. That’s who I am.”
bdeachman@postmedia.com
查看原文...
“And then I stopped,” he said on Saturday. “It was too hard to look at the rest.
“Every cow had a name and I knew every cow, and now they’re not there. And that’s the story. I was always proud of what I had, and now it’s not there.”
Eighty of Ruiter’s 98 cows died in the blaze, and on Saturday he was too busy dealing with such immediate concerns as cleaning up the terrible mess to think much about his future and whether he’ll rebuild.
“I’ve thought about that,” he admitted, “but it’s 24 hours old. It’s real fresh to me right now.
“But it’s in my heart. I love my cows and I love what I’ve done my whole life. I’d hate this to be the way to end it.”
Ruiter had spent Friday morning in his barns, returning to the house at 12:30 p.m. for lunch. Less than half an hour later, a passing motorist who saw the flames at the Prince of Wales Drive farm stopped to warn Ruiter. By then, he said, it was already too late to save the cows in the barn.
“I looked into the barn and I saw flames coming out, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to die.’ I just stood behind my garage and said, ‘Sorry, cows.’ ”
A fire on Friday afternoon destroyed much of Peter Ruiter’s Barrhaven dairy farm and killed 80 of his 98 purebred Holsteins.
Early estimates put the damage at about $1 million. Ruiter says his livestock was insured and his barns partly insured.
The farm — Black Rapids Farm, near Fallowfield Road — has been in the Ruiter family since his father bought it in 1962. Previously, it had been in the Craig family for about a century. Ruiter, 48, bought the farm from his father in 1992. The homestead, barely more than 30 metres from the fire, was untouched by the blaze.
Firefighters began receiving 911 calls at 1:03 p.m. Friday. With no water hydrants nearby, they fought the blaze with a tanker shuttle, using water trucked to the scene. The fire was officially under control at 2:12 p.m., although smoke continued to rise into the evening. The cause remains unknown.
Coun. Jan Harder, whose Barrhaven ward encompasses the farm, told the Citizen that the farm was a “prominent landmark” and its loss a tragedy.
“It’s very sad. I’m glad that he escaped the barn, but it must have been awfully hard for him to do that,” she said. “I’m hoping he can rebuild, that he has the heart to. I think we’ve lost an important part of Barrhaven.”
At noon on Saturday, five animal-rights activists gathered outside Ruiter’s farm for a “vigil,” at which they waved signs reading “Honk to show your compassion for all animals” and “Not your mom, not your milk.”
“It’s incorrect,” Ruiter said of the demonstrators. “My cows are my life and some of the comments I’ve heard …
“The day they lose a loved one that they care about and then have someone criticize you after you’ve looked after them their whole life, it’s wrong.”
He was relieved, he added, that all the cows were at least accounted for. And for now he’ll continue with the 18 that survived.
“I’ve always tried to be positive and look at what’s coming next,” he said. “I’ve got six cows at a neighbour’s and they’ll all have calves in the next two weeks.
“That’s my future. That’s who I am.”
bdeachman@postmedia.com
查看原文...
