2 horses killed in fire at pop-up stable in Southwest Philadelphia, ACCT Philly says
Investigation underway after horses burned in fire
Investigators are trying to determine whether a fire that killed two horses and left other animals in danger, was a case of cruelty or neglect.
PHILADELPHIA - A devastating blaze claimed the lives of two horses as it burned their home to the ground in Southwest Philadelphia on Thursday.
The SPCA and the Philadelphia Fire Marshal are investigating how the fire started.
What we know:
2 horses killed in stable fire in Southwest Philadelphia
A fire tore through a 'pop-up stable' killing two horses and leaving more in danger. FOX 29's Steve Keeley is live in Hunting Park with some of the horses that were rescued.
Flames erupted at a pop-up stable on the 5800 block of Lindbergh Boulevard around 8 a.m.
SKYFOX was live over the tragic scene as crews battled the blaze, and smoke rose from the rubble.
ACCT Philly told FOX 29's Dawn Timmeney that two horses were found dead in their stalls, one of them just one-year-old.
Another horse was badly burned, but able to escape, along with nearly 10 other horses, three ponies, a pig and a goat.
Photos and video show the charred remains, with several horses suffering from apparent burns.
The Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia, known as ACCT Philly, was called to 5800 Lindbergh Boulevard in January for a dog tied up and says it immediately contacted the city when it saw this pop-up barn built on city property.
What they're saying:
"Two horses were killed, and the other sad part is three horses were critically burned, and they're now getting treatment. They went to New Bolton, which specializes in equine veterinary services, so they will get the best care that they can. We are hopeful they will make a full recovery. We don't know that yet, but ideally, what we hope for all these animals is that they have a bright future after this where they can be adopted into forever homes," said Gillian Kocher of the PSPCA.
"It really makes us here angry because those horses weren't supposed to be there," said Sarah Barnett, executive director of Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia.
Several citations had been posted to get the horses off the city-owned redevelopment property prior to the deadly fire, according to Sararnett from ACCT Philly.
"You need to give them notice and time to leave, so that was the process we were trying to start, and we were in contact as recently as this week with the city about doing that," Barnett said.
What we don't know:
No word on any cause of the fire at this time.
What's next:
The SPCA and the Philadelphia Fire Marshal are investigating how the fire started.
The Source: Information from this article was provided by ACCT Philly.