According to published reports, a fire in the morning hours of Thursday, February 20 devastated a stable in the 5800 block of Lindbergh Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia.
The fire started shortly after 7:30 a.m. and fire companies had the flames controlled by around 8 a.m. The stable was not registered with the city.
After the fire the Pennsylvania SPCA's Animal Law Enforcement team reported it had rescued a total of 12 horses from the property after the fire. Two additional horses, one a yearling, were killed in the blaze.
“The three most critical horses were transported to the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for immediate treatment, while three more headed directly to our Philadelphia headquarters. Of the remaining horses, four will be temporarily housed at Montgomery County SPCA's Perkiomenville Shelter and two at Last Chance Ranch's Quakertown facility, before ultimately moving to our Danville Center,” the PSPCA website reports.
A goat and a pig living on the property were taken into care by ACCT Philly (Animal Care and Control Philly).
Jackie Burke, Executive Director of Last Chance Ranch, explained that they responded to a call to assist with transporting six horses from the barn fire. “We transported four to the Montgomery County SPCA and two to our facility for temporary layover,” she said.
“Saturday, February 22nd the PSPCA picked up the two horses we were housing to get them through their intake process and hold for evidence, as this was an ongoing investigation, and the animals were not signed over.”
At the time of this writing, at least six of the 12 horses have been signed over, and are available for adoption through the PSPCA website. Last Chance Ranch will be receiving two of those horses within the next few weeks.
Arson was suspected early on in the investigation. Philadelphia Police released surveillance video that appears to show a man wearing dark colored pants, a gray long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt and a black hat, walking up to the stable. Minutes later, the video shows flames in the barn.
According to a Facebook post by ACCT Philly, that organization had issued multiple citations at the site prior to the fire, and was working with the city to address the issue.
The property where the stable stood is owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority. The stable had been there for about a year but was not authorized to operate.
In the city of Philadelphia it is legal to keep horses, but they must be licensed, and properties where they are kept must also be licensed and meet zoning requirements. Horse licenses can be purchased at the ACCT Philly website acctphilly.org/horse-licensing.
The Pennsylvania SPCA is accepting donations toward the rescue and care of these 12 horses. Donations can be made on the PSPCA website, pspca.org.