Two miniature ponies and multiple chickens were killed when a fiery blaze engulfed a suburban barn on Friday, authorities said.
Around 2:15 p.m., Wauconda fire fighters responded to a call on the 27000 block of West May Street in unincorporated Wauconda and found a barn engulfed in heavy fire, authorities said. While on Route 176 on the way to the scene, crews saw a large column of smoke rising from the fire.
The barn is located roughly 400 feet from the road and only 15 feet from a residence, authorities said, so fire crews “quickly deployed hose lines and had water on the fire in less than 3 minutes.”
Aerial footage captured by NBC Chicago Sky 5 showed fire fighters spraying the badly burnt-out barn with hoses.
Because there are not fire hydrants in the area, firefighters used water tenders to establish a rural water supply operation that provided continuous water supply to fight the blaze, authorities said. Roughly 15,000 gallons of water was used in the roughly 40 minutes it took to bring the fire under control.
Though two miniature ponies and multiple chickens were found dead after the fire, both in the barn and in one nearby, authorities said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation as of Saturday evening, however, authorities said they do not believe it to be suspicious.