Stable owner recounts fire that killed 24 horses

June 05--MOUNT HOPE -- Rich Banca said the sight of one of his barns engulfed in flames with dozens of horses inside will be hard to get past.

"It was one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life," he said in a phone interview Monday morning.

The fire was reported about 3 a.m. Saturday at the Mount Hope Training Center. The barn was destroyed and all 24 racehorses inside died.

Banca, who has owned the training center off Guymard Turnpike for 11 years, lives an hour away. He did not get to the farm until about 4 a.m.

"When I first pulled in, I couldn't get to the farm because there were so many fire trucks and police," Banca said. "... People from the fire department said they could see it from miles away, the glow in the air."

Otisville Fire Company Chief Tony Coppola said Monday that he and his second assistant, Robert Coppola, arrived seven minutes after the fire was called in.

"The barn was fully involved when we got there," Tony Coppola said.

The training center sits on 65 acres of rolling hills and open fields in the Town of Mount Hope. It has 230 stalls, according to its website, which touts its proximity to Pocono Downs, Yonkers Raceway and the Meadowlands. It also features a half-mile training track and a 900,000-gallon, saltwater, indoor equine pool.

Coppola said the cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation, though Banca said he heard officials discussing lightning as a possible cause.

The fire was so intense that nobody could get inside to help the horses.

"I think they were able to get one out, but the horse ran back in the barn," Banca said.

Firefighters evacuated and protected the neighboring barn that hosted 30 other horses.

Banca estimated that the fire caused $1 million in damage, including the loss of the barn and the horses. The barn was insured, but the horses were not, he noted.

"I would say 95 percent don't get insurance unless the horse is really valuable," Banca said. "But most people don't have it because it's just so expensive."

The Orange County Division of Fire Services and the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control are investigating the fire. State police responded briefly, but turned over the case to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office did not return a request for comment on Monday.

Coppola said as many as 11 departments and mutual aid companies responded. No people were injured.

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