Chickens saved from burning building

By FRITZ MAYER

SHOHOLA, PA — Some fortunate fowl were saved from a fiery death on the evening of August 23, when a fire broke out in the building next to their pen.

Christopher Weil, a New York City-based photographer who has a weekend home in Barryville, NY, was the first on the scene, and quickly moved to free the dozen or so chickens and geese that were locked in the pen. Weil said some of the birds were too frightened to move through the opened gate and he realized the fire was getting too hot for him to remain in the pen, so he went outside the pen and pulled up a corner of the fencing and the birds escaped the blaze that way.

Once the birds were free, Weil, who was accompanied by his wife, Stella, and four-year-old daughter Valentina, returned to their car where Valentina called him a superhero.

Weil grabbed his camera and captured the blaze as the roof collapsed and the flames lit up the tree next to the building. He took the first picture at about 9:30 p.m. The Shohola Fire Department was at the scene about 12 minutes later.

The fire department could not immediately be reached for comment.