Updated: Fire Rips Through Horse Barn on Crystal Lake Road

Fire destroyed a huge, rambling former horse barn Wednesday morning on a hill above Crystal Lake. No one was injured in the blaze, which was reported at 8 a.m., but about 70 chickens and two cats were killed in the structure at 40 Crystal Lake Road.

There was an out-of-service fire hydrant on the property, according to the owner and neighbors.

In the choking smoke, owner Diana Dixey and her sister Lina Voir rushed in to save the two minature horses, cats and chickens.

"The barn was all locked up because of the chickens and I had predators so I got in there and it was just thick smoke," said Dixey. "I got one pony out and then I was letting chickens out and then my sister was in there screaming: she couldn't get the other pony out."

That's when firefighters told her to get out.

"Meanwhile," Dixey said, "the guy said the roof was collapsing on us. I realized the top [of the barn] was burning; I thought it was just what I could see, which wasn't much down below."

In fact, the entire structure was in flames and the fire hydrant right on her property was out of service. Firefighters ran long yellow hoses from the next closest fire hydrant, hundreds of feet away, down Prout Hill Road near Ridge Road.

Marc Fongemie, Deputy Chief of Operations at South Fire, said firefighters are trained to locate different sources of water when they arrive on scene, so "it was not much of an interruption in water flow. It really didn't affect what we did."

"It sure took them a long time, we were here forever without water," said Dixey.

She left the barn at 9 p.m. Tuesday and slept later than usual Wednesday morning. "I woke up at 6 a.m. and lied in bed until 7 a.m. I wish I had gotten up," Dixey said.

She couldn't say what could have caused the blaze and said electricity was to brighten up the dark barn interior. "I have lights in there."

At 9:15 a.m., the fire was declared under control, said Fongemie. The roof "pancaked down," as a result of the blaze and the six-stall barn with a full loft and adjoining small shed are a total loss, Fongemie said.

As dozens of neighbors looked on, Jack and Lynda Hermann arrived by golf cart from their home down the street on Crystal Lake.

"We saw the smoke, but we didn't think it was near," Jack said. "I thought it was the power plant and I said, 'oh no, not again.' I couldn't get a perspective on the distance until I saw plenty of smoke."

That's when he and his wife drove down to investigate the blaze. Directly across the street is the new housing development Trailside Crossing. This area is especially important to Jack. He owned the 40 acres that were sold to Dixey about 15 years ago and Trailside Crossing just two to three years back.

"I used to be here since I was a kid, haying, doing chores," Jack said, pointing to the burning barn. "This goes back to the early to mid-50s."

Trailside Crossing, Jack said, "used to be a training track for horses years ago. We had the state fair here back in the '40s. I sold it to a developer three to four years ago."

Watching firefighters extinguish the flames, Jack said, "It brings back a lot of old memories. I did a lot of work to make it usable because it had deteriorated over the years."

Durham, Westfield and Middletown Fire Departments assisted South Fire District firefighters. No cause has been determined and the fire marshal is on scene investigating.

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