Six horses died after a barn in McHenry County went up in flames late Sunday night, authorities said.
The Harvard Fire Protection District reported their crews were called just before midnight to the 19100 block of Crowley Road in unincorporated Harvard on for a fire in a barn “with animals possibly inside."
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WATCH HEREFirefighters arrived at the scene within 10 minutes of receiving the call, the district said, and found heavy fire coming from a 50-by-60 pole barn that extended to a second, much larger barn nearby.
Officials said the rural location, along with visible fire conditions and limited access to water warranted an upgrade to the initial call for service. Crews had to bring in additional water supplies and manpower from neighboring fire departments.
With the help of more than a dozen neighboring fire departments, firefighters contained the main body of the fire within 60 minutes, but crews remained on scene for several hours extinguishing residual hot spots and assisting with the investigation, authorities said.
Though no civilian or firefighter injuries were reported, six horses inside the barn during the fire died, authorities said.
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The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Harvard Fire Protection District.
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