Reviewed by: Nathan Watson
Devastating fire at Ireland Farms: Join the effort to rebuild
Reading time: 3 minutes
Ireland Farms, one of the Birmingham metro’s most popular sources of fresh local produce, experienced a devastating barn fire from late Sunday evening into Monday morning.
Read on about the impact the fire will have on the farm and how you help.
Ireland Farms: “Everything that wasn’t a plant”
In an interview with Bham Now, owner Scott Ireland said the barn and contents inside it are almost a complete loss worth about $300,000.
“We used it (barn) for everything that wasn’t a plant. It was our storage space.”
Items lost included:
- Walk-in coolers
- Bathroom
- Golf Cart
- Battery pack for the solar panels
- Water-pump equipment
- Weed whackers, mowers, hand tools, harvest knives and harvest tubs
There were also a number of priceless sentimental items in the barn — his late father’s golf bag, family photos and his wife’s boots she wore to their wedding.
They have also located only one of their three cats.
“We’re very hopeful to see the other two. it’s still, it’s still a smoldering mess. I get why they might be hesitant to come out of the woods. Finding the other two of our three cats would be very good for my mental health. All the other stuff we’re talking about is stuff. I’m not sure my heart could take losing a kitty.”
Scott Ireland, Ireland Farms
Community rallying to support Ireland
News about the Ireland Farm fire started getting out on social media Wednesday around midday.
“For these important and hard-working farmers to lose so much essential equipment at a time when spring crops are coming in and the big season is kicking off is awful. Fortunately no one was hurt. Ireland Farms has become an important supplier of high-quality organic vegetables and herbs for shoppers at The Market at Pepper Place and for chefs and restaurants around the Birmingham area.
This is the revenue they rely on but we rely on them too. Without the fresh food local farmers provide, the health of our community and local economy could be utterly jeopardized.”
Leigh Sloss-Corra, Executive Director, The Market at Pepper Place
What you can do to help
A GoFundMe campaign supporting Ireland Farms has been launched. Make a donation today to “Help Ireland Farms Rebuild”.
Another way you can help is by going to the Market at Pepper Place this Saturday to purchase plants they were planning to plant this week. The sell of the plants will help mitigate labor costs for planting, cultivating and harvesting so they can divert some of that energy to rebuilding.
The good news – the farm did get much of their planting in before the fire. As a result, there is a chance to produce vegetables this spring and summer if they can replace the equipment that was destroyed.
Thank you from Ireland Farms
One final message Scott insisted on relaying about the fire and the response was sincere thanks.
“Thank you to all the people that have reached out to us, emotionally, financially and sharing the GoFundMe. To have the community rise up and get your back it’s invigorating. To look at your dreams smoldering and the ash, you just want to throw up your hands and say, I give up! But to have all of our customers, friends and family immediately,rise to the occasion. Really, I’m at a loss for words about it.”
