A two-alarm fire in a hay barn in the middle of New Holland Saturday afternoon has been called "suspicious."

Larry Martin, chief of Liberty Fire Company in the borough, said the 12:33 p.m. fire at New Holland Sales Stables, 101 W. Fulton St., is being investigated by New Holland police and the state police fire marshal.

The fire destroyed the hay barn, causing more than $100,000 damage.

And it forced the evacuation of 52 apartments in the adjacent New Holland Apartments complex on Franklin Street for nearly an hour.

"The apartment building has a rubber roof and there were a lot of burning embers floating around," Martin said. "People had their windows open and there also was a lot of smoke drifting in, so we just felt like we should evacuate the apartments to be safe."

Martin did not know how many people live in the complex's 52 apartments.

No one was injured in the fire, and Martin said firefighters were able to keep the blaze from damaging any structures around the hay barn.

"It was the best outcome we could have hoped for, given what we encountered when we arrived," the chief said.

Upon arrival, firefighters found the 80-foot-by-70-foot brick structure with a metal roof engulfed in flames.

The building is used to store hay for the animals kept at the stables.

There were many cows and sheep in those adjacent stables Saturday.

"A lot of people were asking about the animals, and they all made out OK," Martin said. "They had good ventilation, and we checked on them several times."

Thanks to a breeze blowing primarily out of the west Saturday, most of the smoke drifted away from the barns housing the animals awaiting sale at auction.

No livestock  had to be moved because of the fire.

It took firefighters from four engine companies about an hour to get the blaze under control, according to Martin.

At one point, there were teams of firefighters on the ground surrounding the building spraying water into it, while crews manning two ladder trucks dumped water from high overhead.

"It's a building in the middle of the borough with lots around it, so that always makes things kind of tricky," Martin said.

The plume of smoke rising from the barn could be seen for miles around New Holland.

Because the fire is considered to be suspicious, Martin declined to say how it started.

He referred such questions to the borough police and state police fire marshal.

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