At least 11 horses killed in Colorado barn fire: "It's like losing a loved one"
An overnight fire at an equestrian boarding site in Colorado caused the death of at least 11 horses. It happened at a barn in Franktown in Douglas County, near Russellville Road and North State Highway 83. Originally, officials said 10 horses had died but Tuesday evening, they said another had passed.
We know the barn was licensed to hold up to 16 horses. we won't know know many were inside or exactly how many perished until after the fire is fully put out.
"These buildings and horse barns and things like this typically are full of dry horse straw and lumber," said Franktown Fire Chief David Woodrick.
Because of that fuel, the fire moved quickly. Aerial video shows the resulting 30-foot-high column of fire.
"We were able to deliver over 54,000 gallons of water to the scene," Woodrick said. "We're out here in a rural area where we don't have fire hydrants so at that point, it was trying to keep the fire from spreading to other exposures or to the forest in the area."
A caretaker who lives at the property was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation after efforts to rescue the horses. Four horses were saved.
The fire started just before 4 a.m. and it destroyed the barn. The cause of the blaze is unknown so far and is currently under investigation.
The horses had a group of different owners. Authorities are working to contact all the owners of the animals about what happened.
As of about noon, officials were not able to comment on the caretaker or surviving horses' condition. The Franktown Fire Protection District said it won't be releasing any more information about the caretaker at this time.
The barn itself was a total loss. The owners had a fire alarm in the barn, but no fire suppression system, Woodrick said.
"Franktown itself is a very small community so when something happens to one person, here it affects all of us," said Irishura Gidioni, a pastor at Franktown Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Gidioni spent the morning comforting a congregation member who lost a horse in the fire.
"It was hard for them to even speak," he said. "It's shocking and it's very unreal. I know for them, it's like losing a loved one."
