HOBART, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Daniel Diederich tells FOX 11 he was watching the news on election night like many people, until a car drove up his driveway, blasting its horn.
“I just sprinted out the door, I didn’t change or anything, I was in my pajamas, I didn’t have shoes on. It was terrifying, but I was more scared for them than anything.”
He’ll never forget what he saw next.
“The fire was over 50 feet tall, there was I think 10 [to] 12 departments that showed up, multiple engines.”
Neighbors and strangers poured in too, helping rescue animals trapped in burning barns.
“They got right in the manure and covered in manure like me and anyone else that was there,” Daniel said. “We were able to save all the animals in this facility and that one. There was about 90.”
But 91 more young calves died.. and 30 chickens.
“The lives that were lost.. they weren’t just animals, they were our friends and they brought us so much happiness,” Sarah Diederich told FOX 11. “We wanted to help them, but the fire was so big.”
“You don’t go out to work in the morning expecting to come out and see everything that you were working with the day before charred and gone,” Daniel added.
At one point during the fire, Dan hadn’t been seen for minutes, and he says everyone outside thought he died inside.
The Diederichs says the fire was so destructive investigators can’t find a cause. But the family is trying to move forward.
“We have insurance, but, insurance doesn’t make you whole ever in these kinds of scenarios,” Daniel explained. “So, it’s going to be a struggle for the next several years.”
FOX 11 asked Daniel what he did the day after the fire.
“Cried,” Daniel replied. “The next day was really hard… getting up in the morning, or getting out of my bed… I didn’t really sleep that night I guess. Getting out of bed I still had to go to work the next morning, I still had to take care of the animals.”
Two buildings burnt to nothing… and two more considered a total loss. They’ll be demolished in the next two months. Thankfully, no people were seriously hurt.
The farm has been in Hobart since 1913, and it’ll be there going forward. If you’d like to donate to the farm, please click here.
