Lee Swee Fong, 50, said the incident which occurred at 6.45am destroyed 74,000 four-day-old chicks.

“I had checked the barn about 6am this morning and found nothing amiss.

“About 45 minutes later, I was alerted of a fire after hearing the screams of four of my workers,” he said when contacted here today.

He said this was the first time such an incident had occurred after 26 years of being in the business, adding that he was lucky another chicken coop next door was unaffected by the blaze.

Meanwhile, Yong Peng Fire and Rescue Department chief Mohd Asroy Mohd Yahaya said the department was alerted about the fire at 7.40am.

He said two fire engines from the Yong Peng and Ayer Hitam fire stations, along with 14 personnel, arrived at the scene 10 minutes later.

“At that point, the two-storey hen house was engulfed in flames, and the fire was brought under control about 8am,” he said.