There just aren’t any words… 
Pics of some of the survivors…
4 of the survivors - 3 horses and one precious kitten found alive in the rubble of the barn where all the horses perished:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/alexbrown/messages?msg=50983.47
Prayers and condolences to/for all who were lost or otherwise affected by this horrible tragedy.
Just horrific and heart breaking for those poor owners,trainers and help
Just as an aside I’m sure none/few of the horses were insured and nothing can ease the pain of losing your horses but when racing/horses is your bread and butter its worth having.
Specified perils is dirt cheap . I just got my renewal and fire or lightening or smoke caused by either are covered.
Just a thought for those that don’t have it especially if your horses are in a wooden barn.
The rate I believe is 0.6% of insured value!
is too stunned and upset to speak
Its heartbreaking that this happend. Ive been to those barns many many times. Knowing how they were built and the condition, and being a firefighter, I am SPEECHLESS. They (firefighters) did an AMAZING job. BArn fires are hard to fight no matter what, but these barns would be my worst nightmare. It is a blessing more life wasnt lost.
Donations/contributions?
What’s the best way to make a donation? Is there one organization helping the owners/riders?
Contact the Charles Town HBPA at 304 725-1535.
This is probably the best way to make a monetary donation, and they can also tell you where to bring items like halters, lead ropes, buckets, hay, shavings, etc.
Condolences to all affected by this. I too am hoping for a list of horses that perished as I was watching a few of them on the virtual stable and one horse I was tracking disappeared after running at that track.
Warmest wishes to all involved…Ive lived through one barn fire, and it was an experience I'd never wish on my worst enemy. That sweet little kitten, all singed and sooty - if I were close Id take it in a heartbeat. Blessings to the rescuers.
Going to hug all of my “kids” tonight - horses and kittehs.
That poor kitten! It’s hair is all singed off, even its whiskers are gone.
Condolences to all. What a heartbreaking event.
That cat just got to me. Anyone know if he’s in the hospital?
I was wondering the same thing? He/she could have burned paws. I also saw on another news site there was a litter found, 3 or 4 kittens, no mention of Mom cat
Its funny how cats survive these things. My boarding barn burnt down when I was 16 and thankfully we lost no horses. The cat was found just as the one above was described. Singed hair and whiskers, burnt paws. I will never forget the image of one of the firefighters, covered in soot and probably having a difficult time breathing himself, cradling that cat and holding an oxygen mask over its little nose…
I have been away from the boards for a few days to come across this first thing.
Just speechless. I have also been through a barn fire, we were there and saved all the horses. Lightening was determined the cause of that one. But it is a painful site to watch knowing there is nothing you can do once it starts, even worse when you know the horses are still in there.
My prayers are with all who lost horses! God speed to all those wonderful four legged TB’s!
Hope my exCT horses’ connections are okay. Will be giving my exCT horse an even bigger huges then normal, thats for sure.
i too will be giving Storm Gulch a hug tonight. He came from Charlestown. what a horrific scene. My heart goes out to the owners, trainers, and grooms who lost their horses on Monday. My thoughts and prayers go out to those lives lost
Someone on ABR was tat the fire (amber and steve (i think thats his name)) and she was there for the night at the casino and ran to the barns (in high heels) after seeing a transformer sparking. By the time they got there Barn 1 was already engulfed and they could see horses in barn 2 but could not enter due to the heavy smoke.
Instead they ran to barn 3 and climbed into the dark stalls with halters in hand and haltered every one of the horses and got them out…without lead ropes. 5 minutes later while the last horse was being brought out, the roof of that barn (barn 3) was completely engulfed.
4 kittens were found in the remains of the barns…hair singed and whiskers burnt off but they are OK.
There are Youtube videos taken by Amber and Steve as the got to the barns. its heartwrenching watching them peer into the dark barn #2 knowing there where horses standing in there…but they couldnt do anything but its comforting to know that they got all horses out of barn 3.
Its also comforting to know that at least the horses in barn 2 most likely died from smoke inhilation and a lack of oxygen
Bless these two for going into the burning barns and saving these horses. If you watch the videos…it is truly amazing how composed they were through the entire ordeal
Well, this is not good. Apparently the sniffer dog brought in got hits for accelerants at the scene. (Mind you, false field positives do happen.). Samples have been sent to the state lab.
[QUOTE=Third Glance;5086051]
Well, this is not good. Apparently the sniffer dog brought in got hits for accelerants at the scene. (Mind you, false field positives do happen.). Samples have been sent to the state lab.
Yes, but the scene was a bunch of barns and other outbuildings. Couldn’t there have been “accelerants” lying around as a regular manner of course? I’m thinking even just something like a can of hoof or tack oil could come up as an “accelerant”. Then again, I’m not versed in how “fire dogs” are trained.
There is also talk of the fire response time being in question (as in taking too long), but the first report I read was that the first one to report seeing a problem (a girl that was employed at the casino) went to “security” to report the sparking electrical transformer. This was reported to happen around 4:20 am.
The call to 911 was said to have occurred at 4:40 am, 10 minutes after the girl reported the transformer to “security”. Firetrucks arrived approximately 10 minutes later.
This is just what I’ve read from the many reports that have been popping up.
As for the investigation possibly resulting in the fires as being termed of “suspicious” nature, how does this affect any insurance claims some of the horseowners may be making on their losses? Would that negate their claims such that they would receive nothing?
What a sad, tragic mess.
Any news on the accelerants? My friend who works at the track said somebody has already confessed to setting the fire. Don’t know if this is true yet or not.
I always keep halters on my horses for this very reason. As a member of a fire company I know first hand how little the know about horses. If there isn’t something easy to grab they are going to keep right on going.
No words can describe.Is there anyone that stays with the horses like watching them all night for example like humans watch kids i did that in my younger days and could still do it these days they should be watch i personally would do it all over again watching horses that is these days have video etc… i could go on you know the drill there are pros and cons and i don,t even know where to start i just want to run to the track at wv and check on all the horses and see and ask the horses how are you doing sorry just me[:sigh give them a horse snack . ]
If my husband remembers correctly he said they blew the barns out with leaf blowers… so there very well could have been gas cans laying around. I cant believe someone that worked there would start a fire.
And we always put back on halters at feed time for this very reason!
