BONNERS FERRY — Three explosions inside of a barn prompted numerous 911 calls around midnight on April 12, with callers reporting that their neighbor’s barn was engulfed with flames.

North Bench Fire Association responded to 89 Nighthawk Road last Wednesday night at about 11:45 p.m. NBFA requested assistance from South Boundary Fire Protection District and the Hall Mountain Fire Department. SBFPD dispatched a water tender to the scene and a Hall Mountain crew was requested for standby.

The official cause of the fire has not yet been determined, however one neighbor told the Herald that the homeowner had heating lamps inside of the barn for their baby chicks.

“We heard three explosions and then we saw the fire,” the neighbor said, requesting to remain anonymous,

NBFA reported the fire had been extinguished at 12:47 a.m., with crews securing the scene until the early morning hours.