SAVANNAH, OH (WCMH) — The large barn fire killed thousands of chickens in Ashland County, Monday.

The owner of the barn told WEWS, that he saw the fire after noticing smoke coming from exhaust fans in the barn.

“You get a small fire and those fans, the ventilation system suck it through the building in a matter of minutes, so it doesn’t take long for these things to evolve very quickly and hard to get under control,” said Chief Stephen Dinsmore with the Savannah Volunteer Fire Department.

About 22,000 total chickens were killed in the fire and several thousand eggs were also destroyed, according to the owner.

Six fire departments worked to contain the fire, and the cause is still unknown.