CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — Thousands of chickens were killed Monday when a fire tore through a farm in Cleveland County. 

The Polkville Fire Department got the call around noon from Bridges Farm, which is owned by Case Farms, according to the PFD chief. 

No one was hurt in the blaze, but thousands of chickens died when one of the houses was destroyed by the fire, officials said. 

Several fire crews worked for hours at the chicken farm, including about five different crews with at least 55 men and five tankers.  

Chief Todd McMurry with PFD said even after controlling the flames, it's going to be hours before all the hot spots are put out since the chicken house was made out of metal. 

“Our biggest concern when we got here was life safety ... All the farmers were out, my next concern was exposure, and I tried to make sure we didn’t have any gas, tanks, at the chicken house, natural gas, propane," he said, describing their work at the scene. "House  two was my closest exposure, the wind was blowing away from us so that worked good.”

Fire officials said a family has owned the farm for generations, and they are a family that is very involved in the community. The farmer on the property declined to comment on the blaze.