One person killed, seven injured in chicken house collapse at Pennsylvania farm

The incident happened Friday morning in Adams County along the 300 block of Spicer Road

One person was killed Friday morning when a chicken house collapsed at a farm in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Seven others who were inside the structured managed to escaped and were taken to area hospitals.
Thom Carroll/Phillyvoice

One person was killed on Friday and seven others were hospitalized after a building for chickens collapsed on a farm in Adams County.

The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. along the 300 block of Spicer Road in Tyrone Township – about 130 miles west of Philadelphia. The large, vacant structure was being prepared for demolition when a "pancake-style collapse" ran the entire length of the building, said photographer Harrison Jones, who was at the scene. 


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At 7:26 a.m. on Friday, July 29, 2022, Adams County alerted units to box 25-4 on the 300 block of Spicer Road for a...

Posted by Harrison Jones Photographer on Friday, July 29, 2022

Eight people were inside the chicken house when the structure collapsed, all of whom were contractors, Pennsylvania State Police said Friday. There were no chickens inside when the structure came down.

Emergency responders from six counties participated in the rescue effort, which lasted several hours.  Search and rescue crews found one person dead.

Seven of the contractors managed to escape on their own and were taken to nearby hospitals. The extent of their injuries remains unclear.

Authorities did not identify the person who was killed.

The chicken house is owned by Hillandale Farms, one of the largest commercial suppliers of chicken eggs in the United States. The company is headquartered in Greensberg, Westmoreland County, and has a number of U.S. production facilities. 

A 2017 fire at the farm in Tyrone Township killed more than 100,000 chickens that were trapped inside a burning barn.

It's unclear what led to the collapse of the building at the farm on Friday.