Fire damages farm animal sanctuary in Springville

SPRINGVILLE — Over $10,000 in donations have been raised to support Hercules’ Haven, a nonprofit farm animal sanctuary that was damaged in a fire Friday, while the owner remains in the chilly and charred home to continue caring for the animals.

The fire, which displaced a dozen of the animals, broke out in the home during a blizzard that brought with it strong winds and extreme cold. Hercules’ Haven is for animals who have been abused, neglected or rescued from factory farming, executive director Alison Stone said.

The fire “nearly took mine and my employee’s lives,” Stone said. “When we have temperatures that get down into negative digits like that, any farmer will tell you it makes things immeasurably harder. It’s awful. The animals hate it, I hate it.

“To add this crisis on top of that is pretty bad.”

While no lives were lost in the fire, four pigs who were living in the house “are a bit traumatized” and one was injured in the rush to get them all to safety, Stone said. The pigs and other animals including goats, bunnies and cats were living inside because they need extra care, Stone said.

“Pigs pick up on energy, and the panic I felt I know they picked up on,” said Stone, adding the pigs experienced “emotional distress.”

Beatrice, a pig who Stone describes as “her bestie,” appears to have strained a muscle while being vacated during the fire, Stone said.

Beatrice, who has been with Stone for about five years, is "a little grumpy” but she and Stone “have an understanding, and we adore each other very much.”

“She came right around the same time our namesake died,” Stone said, referring to the name of the shelter. “She kind of helped me recover emotionally from his death. It was devastating.”

The other animals Stone cares for — about 60 in total including cows, sheep, horses, chickens and ducks — were tucked away in barns untouched by the fire, she said.

The house, 3043 Springville Rd., sustained significant fire and water damage. There still is no power in the house, but a generator was dropped off by Stone’s insurance company on Christmas Eve. Even so, the house has hovered around 50 degrees, she said.

After the fire, Stone was offered a hotel stay and meal reimbursement by her insurance company. She opted instead to stay in her home and care for the animals, she said.

Stone’s needs at the moment include donations, assistance getting the house’s furnace running and plumbing and electrical assistance. As of Monday morning, about $10,000 had been donated to Hercules’ Haven after the fire. The rescue is accepting donations at herculeshaven.org/support or through Venmo at Hercules' Haven.

‘Something was very wrong’

Before the fire, Stone said she noticed some electrical issues in the house — including no heat going to one of the upstairs bedrooms. She had a friend from the fire department help troubleshoot and he “knew something was very wrong in the house,” Stone said.

Smoke soon began billowing out of a wall in the dining room, Stone said. Stone, her employee and friends took action to remove the 12 animals from the home. The Springville and Marion fire departments responded to extinguish the fire, which damaged the dining room, sun room, roof, trusses and basement.

After the fire, a water spigot Stone uses to give water to the animals in the barns froze. Stone spent the weekend filling buckets of water in her bathtub for the animals, she said. Since then, she has been able to get access to a spigot outside the house to run a hose to the barns — but it’s not ideal, she said.

Stone’s immediate needs are fixing the outdoor water spigot, receiving donations of warm bedding for the animals and donations of vegan meals for herself as she continues to prioritize the animals’ needs.

“At some point I’ll be able to hook up the stove, but it’s not at the top of my priority list,” she said.

An insurance adjuster is expected to inspect the home Tuesday. An investigation into how the fire started will need to be completed before restoration work can begin, Stone said. She does not know how long the investigation will take but has been told restorations will be “a very long process,” she said.

Hercules’ Haven

Hercules’ Haven was started on about 4 acres of land outside of Cedar Rapids, becoming official with 501(c) 3 status in 2017. It moved to the current 40-acre property in Springville in May 2019.

The animals come to the haven in various ways. A pot bellied pig was moved to the haven after its owner died by suicide and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office asked Stone to take it in.

Other animals have special needs. One of the goats on the farm has a urinary catheter after being left with an untreated urinary stone and its urethra ruptured, Stone said. Another goat has a tracheostomy — a surgically created hole in its windpipe for it to breathe — after having cancer.

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