Fire destroys two buildings at New Hamburg bee farm

A New Hamburg family is picking up the pieces after a fire destroyed part of their farm Wednesday morning.

 

Firefighters were called to Nith Valley Apiaries around 6:30 a.m. in response to a shed that had burst into flames. 

 

“When [crews] arrived on scene they did find the shed fully involved and that the fire had extended into the shop that was attached,” Wilmot Township Fire Chief Rod Leeson told CTV News.

 

Firefighters put out the flames and worked to control hotspots throughout the morning. 

 

Firefighters respond to Nith Valley Apiaries in New Hamburg on Dec. 20, 2023. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)

Erika and Mike Roth own Nith Valley Apiaries and live on the 2.5 acre property with their three children. They were alerted to the fire after a passerby came knocking at their door. 

“When we woke up we didn’t know that we had a fire on the property,” Erika Roth said. 

The shed where the fire started had a tractor inside, along with three ducks. Roth said the ducks got out safely but everything else was destroyed. 

The family said they recently purchased a water heater in an auction and plugged it in for the first time the night before the fire.

“That’s the only thing that we could think of that could have caused the fire,” Roth said. 

Multiple fire trucks are seen in front of Nith Valley Apiaries in New Hamburg on Dec. 20, 2023. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)

The neighbouring shop on the property was also destroying along with the equipment inside.

The shop was regularly used to build equipment, make product packaging and do repairs. 

“It all happens in that building,” Roth said. “[It had] 15 years of saved equipment.”

Fire crews spent Wednesday morning tearing down the burnt remains of both structures. 

For more than 100 years, Nith Valley Apiaries has been collecting honey through controlled bee hives. 

This year the business has 700 colonies scattered throughout Perth, Waterloo and Oxford. None of the bees are kept on the property. 

The Wilmot Fire Department has yet to release a cause of the fire or an estimate on damages. No injuries were reported and officials say the fire is not considered suspicious. 

The Roth family said operations at Nith Valley Apiaries will not be impacted by the fire. In the meantime they’re working with their insurance provider to restore or replace what was lost. 

 

 

 

 

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