GRANBY — Days after a large fire engulfed Red Fire Farm’s barn and farm store on Carver Street in Granby on Saturday afternoon, farm staff slowly recounted the equipment and inventory lost in the fire, as well as the memories attached to them.

The fire caused an estimated $1 million in damages, according to co-owner Ryan Voiland. He estimated the lost contents of the century-old barn, including signs, tools, potting soil, irrigation equipment, boxes and pallets, deer fencing and display coolers, added up to about $170,000 worth of material. The building is insured, but Voiland is doubtful the insurance money will cover the cost of rebuilding the barn and replacing the lost inventory and tools. Red Fire Farm also has a location in Montague.

Beyond the capital loss, the barn signified over a century of Red Firm Farm’s history. Built in the late 1920s after a lightning strike burned the former barn down, it was constructed with beams made of local American chestnut, a once-common tree species prized for its timber that has since been largely wiped out in America by a fungus.

Voiland said he worked with his father on the barn when he first bought the property in 2001. He spent hours hauling manure out of the basement and chipping away at layers of solidified pig-pen bedding. His father helped him with plumbing and renovations that same year.

“To see all your hours and hours of work burn up, it’s heartbreaking,” Voiland said.

The building itself was full of memorabilia, including photos of the barn during its construction. Voiland’s wife and farm co-owner Sarah Voiland noted the 30 years of wooden signs for the farm store, like the “pick your own vegetables” sign, were lost in the fire.

“We lost all the cool things people have made since 2001, like the wooden signs,” she said. “I remember the people who made them. I loved that part the most.”

Voiland said photos and videos of the fire show the blaze started in the center of the building, away from the propane heater and walk-in refrigerator’s compressor. The only mechanical systems in the center loft were the lights, leading Voiland to think an electrical issue started the fire.

The official cause was unknown as of Wednesday, and a joint investigation by Granby Fire Department and Office of the State Fire Marshal is ongoing, said Fire Chief Michael O’Neill.

Farm manager Stephanie Kennedy, who lives in the house next door to the barn, said she watched the flames engulf the building within 13 minutes.

“We were lucky it was windy. The fire was blowing away from the house. If it hadn’t it might have been a different story,” she said.

Kennedy said the staff had begun to take inventory of the supplies in the basement of the barn in preparation for the spring growing season. She remembers what was lost in waves.

“There was nothing super vital [in the barn] that we don’t have in another location,” Kennedy said. “We have everything we need to keep on track.”

The farm’s tractors had moved out of the barn before the fire, and most of the winter produce for community supported agriculture (CSA) shares is kept at the farm’s Montague location. Without their farm store, Red Fire Farm staff are considering hauling out Voiland’s childhood farm stand from his house to continue their winter CSA farm shares and potentially sell spring vegetables. However, the Granby farm has no cold storage at the moment, and the produce won’t last without some refrigeration.

Voiland organized a GoFundMe for the farm on Saturday.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 760 people donated over $68,000 toward the farm’s $200,000 goal. The GoFundMe is available at bit.ly/42LFacT.

Staff Writer Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.