Four horses die in tractor-trailer fire on Kentucky highway
Via TD Thornton
Four thoroughbreds died and four were rescued after a fire consumed a transport trailer on Bluegrass Parkway near Bardstown, Kentucky, around 6:25 a.m. Monday. No one was reported injured in the fire.
The horses are being transported from California to Lexington, said fire chief Todd Spalding of the Bardstown Fire Department. TDN. A post on his department’s Facebook page estimated the combined value of the dead horses at $750,000.
“The cause of the fire is still under investigation,” Spalding said. “When the fire started, they pulled over to the side of the road and tried to get as many horses out as possible. I’m not sure what challenges they faced getting the horses out; if it’s too hot to get the other four out. One of the horses that got out had a sizable laceration in its back, but other than that, all the other horses were fine.”
Spalding said he had no details on where exactly the horses were headed or to whom they belonged.
An employee who answered the phone at the KC Horse Transport office in California confirmed that their trailer was involved in the fire. But the person said they were not allowed to comment further. A callback request from a person who can speak on file did not receive a response ahead of time for this story.
Bardstown is about 60 miles southwest of Lexington.
“When crews arrived at the scene, they found a horse-drawn carriage that was related to the massive fire,” the Facebook post said. “Teams have closed the Bluegrass Parkway to initiate a fire attack.”
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This story was posted in Top News and tagged Bardstown Fire Department, Bluegrass Avenue, KC horse transport, Todd Spalding, Fire trailer.