GoFundMe page set up to help the family rebuild
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
A barn fire in Simcoe County’s Tiny Township claimed the lives of four horses and other animals housed inside.
Tiny Township’s deputy fire chief Denis Maurice told a local newspaper the call came in just after 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
"By the time the first units got on the scene, the roof was already collapsing," he told the Midland Mirror. "So it was well underway before anyone noticed it."
The building was nearly a century old, making it even tougher for fire crews to battle the fire.
Barn fire in Tiny Township.
Photo: Melissa Small/CTV News Barrie
“These barn fires are difficult to fight, the wood is so old (and) very dry, and there are many void open spaces,” Dave Flewelling, another of the Township’s deputy fire chiefs, told CTV News Barrie. “So if we have any wind at all it can get the fire going quite quickly.”
The barn belonged to Melissa and Jim Small.
Jim told CTV News Barrie nothing could be done to save two full-size horses named Mouse and Bailey, or the two miniature horses named Tori and Spencer.
“We came out (and) it was completely engulfed,” he told CTV. “We looked at trying to get the horses out, but no.”
A GoFundMe page was set up by a family friend, Leigh-Anne Adams.
“The entire barn, foundation, equipment, paddock fencing and sheds all need to be rebuilt from the ground up,” the page’s description reads. “There are countless repairs that need to be made due to this loss, and insurance will only cover a small portion.”
The page currently raised $1,255 of the $100,000 goal.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined.