Some 20 horses were led to safety Saturday morning as their stable burned down around them at the Magnolia Run Equestrian Center on Hanson Crossing Road in Sharon Springs.
A tenant in an apartment above the barn suffered first-degree burns after going back for a cat, and a Carlisle firefighter was treated for possible heat exhaustion.
“But considering what we could have been looking at, we were lucky,” said Sharon Springs Fire Chief Greg Baxter.
Several 911 calls reporting the fire came into the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office at about 10:45am.
By the time the first firefighters got there, only a half-dozen horses were still inside the barn, Chief Baxter said, but it was starting to fall in on them.
At first, 911 dispatchers were unable to determine whether the second-floor apartment was occupied, but arriving on the scene, fire crews found 49-year-old Brian Funk had escaped.
Mr. Funk suffered first-degree burns to his face and chest after going back inside the apartment for a cat, Chief Baxter said.
He was taken by the Sharon Springs Rescue Squad to Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, where he was treated and released.
“We understand, pets are like family,” Chief Baxter said. “But the whole situation…I don’t even want to think about it.”
The Carlisle firefighter was taken to Bassett by the Cobleskill Rescue Squad.
Though Saturday was windy, Chief Baxter said that worked in firefighters’ favor, burning the structure to the ground quickly and pushing it away from the main barn.
Chief Baxter said 50-60 volunteers from Sharon, Cobleskill, Carlisle, and Ames were on the scene until about 3pm; they were also called out for a rekindle at about 7pm.
The barn and apartment were completely destroyed by the fire.
Chief Baxter said it appears the blaze started at the rear of the building, but where—and how—is still under investigation.
In addition to the local fire departments, the Schoharie County FAST and FIVES teams and Schoharie County EMS coordinators assisted at the scene.