A Sturgeon County dairy farmer is just one of several landowners looking to rebuild this week after fires caused millions of dollars worth of property damage. Sturgeon County fire departments responded to three major structure fires last week, reports county fire chief Pat Mahoney. Bon Accord, Morinville and Gibbons firefighters rushed to contain a blaze at a two-storey chicken barn south of Bon Accord on Nov. 15. The structure was fully engulfed by the time crews got the call at 4:53 a.m., and the barn was destroyed, killing some 30,000 chickens inside. No one was injured. A second inferno at about 4:46 a.m. on Nov. 18 wrecked a seven-bay shop building near Lamoureux despite the efforts of Bon Accord, Gibbons, and Namao crews, Mahoney said. There were no injuries, but snowmobiles, tractor-trailers and other items were destroyed. The third fire was at Lakeside Dairy east of Legal on Nov. 17. Lakeside Dairy owner Jeff Nonay said the fire started late Thursday sometime after staffers left for the day in the large L-shaped barn where he kept his calves. When a worker came by to investigate a fire alarm at the neighbouring dairy barn at about 2:04 a.m. Friday, he saw that the L-shaped barn (which did not have a fire alarm) was on fire. The building was completely engulfed when Legal, Bon Accord, and Morinville crews arrived, Mahoney said. About 23 firefighters spent many hours battling the flames to keep them away from an adjacent barn and several grain silos. Cold, the size of the building, and the large amount of flammable material in it made this a challenge. No one was injured in the fire, but about 146 cows in the barn died, Nonay said. Among them were about eight pregnant adults, 138 calves, and Smurf, the calf his daughter Lily had been raising for her 4-H Club. Fire investigators believe an electrical short started the fire in a part of the barn far from where the cows usually sleep, Nonay said. The cows likely died of smoke inhalation.