City of Philadelphia inspectors knew about unlicensed horse stables 9 months before deadly fire
Two horses are dead after unlicensed stables in Southwest Philadelphia went up in flames Thursday morning. Twelve other horses were rescued from the property and are still being medically examined, three of which needed specialized care at Penn Vet's New Bolton Center and are being monitored for effects of smoke inhalation and put on feeding plans to slowly gain weight. One of the critically injured horses is also being treated for burns.
The cause of the fire has not been determined at this time.
After sorting through city records, CBS News Philadelphia found out the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) cited the property back in May but the stables continued to house horses and a man told us he had been operating his nonprofit, Scorpion Horse Ranch on the property. Now, animal care officials are asking why the city didn't tell them about this sooner.
CBS News Philadelphia found out that the site where the fire broke out at 5800 Eastwick Avenue was already being investigated by ACCT Philly (Animal Care and Control Team). They found out about the unlicensed operation in January. ACCT Philly Executive Director Sarah Barnett said she noticed the stable was not sufficient.
"There's no structure that's protecting them from wind from the elements, you know so these snow storms we've had — the terrible winds we had last week, you know, those horses were in that pen during that time. That's really not humane," she said.
The property is owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA). Friday, a spokesperson said PRA was aware of the horses on the property and was working with the city and other organizations to have the animals safely removed.
Barnett confirmed that ACCT Philly was assisting with that process and had issued citations as recently as Sunday, Feb. 16. Barnett said she was notified by the PRA that they were planning on notifying the property on Feb. 18 by posting signs that said all structures and animals must be removed from the property within 10 days.
Just two days later, the stable went up in flames.
CBS News Philadelphia showed Barnett the violation notice the city issued back in May which included citations for building without a permit, using unapproved materials and not having a proper zoning permit. She questioned why city inspectors didn't notify ACCT Philly months ago when L&I cited the property for unlicensed horse stables.
"That's really what we need to do is make sure that they know when they go out and they see horses, you need to call us because that didn't happen in this case and you know, should have," Barnett said.
CBS News Philadelphia talked to Gordon Parks on the phone. He said he owns the nonprofit, Scorpion Horse Ranch and had been operating on that property for six years and even received grant money from the city in 2024. Parks said he did not know about the property being cited and was in the process of getting the proper permits. Parks also said his horses were treated well and he believes the fire was intentionally set.
The fire marshal is still investigating.
