The fast actions of a stable manager and emergency personnel helped save twenty-one out of twenty-two Arabian show horses that were in a barn that caught on fire early Saturday morning on the Green Valley Road near Auburn. The fire was ruled accidental by the fire investigator but he did not have an exact cause.

The first thing the barn manager grabbed was two small fire extinguishers when he saw the fire. Unfortunately the fire was too big and the small extinguishers were of little use. The barn manager then covered his face with his shirt and started letting horses out of their stalls until it was too hot and smoky for him to go any farther.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within 30 minutes and keep the fire contained to a small area in the barn. There were no fire hydrants nearby so fire personnel set up a shuttle operation transporting water from the closest hydrant over a mile away.

Once the fire was out the barn manager was able to tow the tractor out of the barn and get the remaining horses out. Fire personnel immediately gave a horse oxygen using a pet oxygen mask and assisted veterinarians with the horse while they gave it medications and fluids. The horse was transported to the hospital but had to be put down due to its injuries from the fire.

Fire fighters continued to mop-up the fire while other fire personnel helped the vet and various people capture horses for a quick medical evaluation.  Tim Perciful said, “It was nice to use some of my TLAR (Technical Large Animal Rescue) training to help capture the horses in a timely manner. We used halter lead lines, dog leashes, rope, scene tape, and anything we had on hand to restrain the horses since most of the tack was in the barn.”

Many of the horse owners were on scene and helped walk the animals to a nearby location for shelter and care. The on scene vet evaluated the horses several times and sent a second horse to the emergency hospital but this animal is expected to be fine.

Mountain View Fire and Rescue would like to thank King County Fire 28, King County Sheriff’s Office, Medic One, The Soup Ladies, the veterinarians on scene, the stable staff, and all the people that helped with this fire and the animals.

Barn Safety Tips: Be sure to have working fire extinguishers and know how to use them. Have an escape plan for fires and other emergencies. Have a phone tree to notify people during an emergency. Have an out of area contact in case local calls can’t be made. Have a plan on transporting livestock during an emergency. Have photos of your animal(s) with important information (phone number, vet info, etc.) on the stall, in the trailer and at home in case of an emergency.