GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — A barn at Brannon Stables, in Georgetown, burned down over the weekend.
Trainer Nancy Brannon said 25 horses were inside at the time and were killed in the fire. A couple of cats and dogs and a goat also died.
"We're trying to go day by day and put one foot in front of the other," Brannon said.
Scott County Fire Department received a call around 1 a.m. Sunday about a fire at the barn. When officials arrived at the scene minutes later, they found the barn engulfed in flames and was beginning to collapse.
"The firefighters were wonderful and so so helpful and none of them were hurt and that's such a blessing," Brannon continued.
She said the farm is like a second home for a lot of people so the weekend's fire was devastating.
While she is enduring this unimaginable loss, her equestrian community is helping her through it.
For example, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help with the barn rebuild. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had raised about $80,000.
"We are just humbled and grateful," she said. "The entire community, words can't say."
Brannon said friends of the farm have agreed to help collect physical donations. Brannon Stables is still figuring out what they need and as soon as that happens, they will let folks know.
"We just wanna say thank you, thank you to everyone," Brannon reiterated.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is underway as of Tuesday. The fire department had to wait until Monday to start the investigation in order for the barn to cool and stop smoldering.
Brannon said the farm primarily focuses on its show horses, but they also do lessons and some breeding. For showings, the American Saddlebred is their focus.
