19 show horses die in barn fire; only one pony saved

BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — A charred barn is all that's left of Carney Performance Horses. It used to be home to world-class show horses until a fire early Saturday morning.

"I believe it was accidental," Bartow County Fire Marshal Gary Garland said. "I can't say what caused it but I have a general idea of where it started."

Garland said when he arrived at the scene the flames were mostly out, but that a wind from the south had caused the fire to spread fast.

"It blew through the barn and moved the fire quickly," Garland said.

Nineteen show horses were being housed in the barn. The owner was out of town for the weekend, but a man sleeping in the barn was the first to discover the fire.​​​

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"There's a young man who lived there," Garland said. "There's an apartment in the barn. He woke up, smelled smoke and went out into the barn and saw flames in the building."

The marshal said that man got a neighbor, and tried to go back in to save the horses but it was too late.

"The smoke and the heat was so intense," Garland said. "That's when they got there. There was nothing they could do."

On Monday morning, heavy equipment was used to remove the carcasses of the horses. While officials can estimate the damage done, there is the intangible cost of the loss of life that is almost impossible to calculate.

"It is fortunate this young man woke up because it could have been his life, as well," Garland said.

Garland said the man who lived in the barn apartment was able to save one pony. As for how much damage was done, that is something insurance investigators will be working to determine.

A GoFundMe page was started to help Carney Performance Horses get back on its feet.

Cox Media Group