Equine community coming together after 18 horses die in Plainfield barn fire
Horse owners are in mourning or seeking new homes for their animals after a barn fire early Wednesday morning near Plainfield killed 18 horses and injured two people who were trying to save them.
Twelve horses survived the blaze and three of them were taken to a veterinary hospital after their boarding facility at Del Real Stables went up in flames. The remaining nine are under observation in case they develop fire-related symptoms.
The loss of horses and property, which was called "incredibly sad" and "tragic," immediately drew together the equine community, with other stable owners offering assistance and boarding space in Plainfield, Peotone and St. Charles.
"The people that did lose their horses are sticking around to help the people that didn't lose their horses," said Laura Powers, a veterinarian at Premier Equine Veterinary Service in Lemont, who is helping tend to the 12 surviving animals. "So it's amazing how everyone is trying to come together and do the best they can right now."
Horse owner Kathleen Oots of Channahon brought apples and straw to the barn, which she said owner Raul Del Real was working to fix up after opening the facility in spring 2016.
"He cared for the horses really well," Oots said.
Powers said horse owners are "in shock" and just beginning to come to terms with what they've lost in the fire, which began about 1:15 a.m.
The large barn at Ridge and Wheeler roads that Del Real Stables operated as a boarding and training facility is a "total loss," said Mary Kay Ludemann, fire marshal for the Plainfield Fire Protection District.
Because the barn is in a rural area, there were no hydrants nearby to assist as firefighters tried to put out the blaze. Ludemann said eight fire departments or districts - including Channahon, Lisbon-Seward, Lockport, Minooka, Naperville, Oswego, Rockdale and Troy - helped by shuttling water to extinguish the flames.
When first responders arrived, they found two people whom authorities have not identified "trying to get inside the burning building to rescue more horses," Ludemann said. Their efforts helped the 12 surviving horses get out, but then the burning structure became too dangerous.
"The fire was just too large," she said. "It was a horrible scene."
One of the people suffered an ankle injury and the other was having trouble breathing. Ludemann said paramedics took them both to area hospitals.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, and the Plainfield fire district did not yet have a preliminary indication of why it started.
• Daily Herald staff photographers Mark Welsh and Brian Hill contributed to this report.