Damage is estimated at between $30,000 and $50,000 following a barn fire in North Dumfries.

Firefighters from Cambridge and Ayr were called to the barn – on Branchton Road just north of the community of Branchton – around 6:45 a.m. Sunday.

It is believed that the fire began in the walls of the chicken barn.

“We had to break down the walls – we peeled the exterior tin off the wall, and then made our way up through the wall cavities to put the rest of the fire out,” said North Dumfries deputy fire chief Mark Smuck.

The fire was knocked down quickly. Firefighters and police officers remained on the property, investigating the fire, into the late morning hours. It is considered suspicious.

No people or animals were hurt.

With reporting by Stu Gooden