NEW HAVEN — An early Tuesday morning blaze destroyed a barn on Daniels Road in New Haven.
Dozens of firefighters from at least five area departments responded to the blaze, which occurred at the Livingston family’s Rail View Dairy Farm. Billowing smoke could be seen from New Haven Junction, half a mile to the east.
Around 6:30 a.m. a farmhand discovered smoke rising from the barn, Philip Livingston told the Independent. While firefighters were en route, farmhands tried to control the fire with hoses, but the hay inside fueled the conflagration, which engulfed the structure within minutes.
Only the barn caught fire, but the sheer heat from the fire damaged a trailer across the street.
 “When I came out, the trailer siding had already melted from the heat,” Livingston said.
Firefighters were able to quickly get the blaze under control, but the barn was a total loss. By 7:15 a.m. crews were using a backhoe to knock down the structure in order to pour water on embers that were still burning.
In addition to hay, the barn was used to store equipment, including a corn planter and antique tractor. Livingston estimated the loss of equipment alone would top $200,000. The 8,000-square-foot structure was just two years old.
New Haven Fire Department Chief Alan Mayer said on Tuesday that it was too early to speculate on a possible cause of the fire. He added that no firefighters or any of the dairy’s 800 cows were hurt.
Fire crews from New Haven, Middlebury, Addison, Bristol and Vergennes responded to the scene.
MIDDLEBURY FIREFIGHTERS SPRAY water on a barn fire in New Haven Tuesday morning. Five fire departments responded to the fire, which was spotted by farmhands at around 6:30 a.m. / Independent photo/Trent Campbell
Independent photo/Zach Despart
Editor’s note: This story was originally posted on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 9:29 a.m. and was updated on Thursday with more photos.