The incident happened in Putnam County on Wednesday, Jan. 10 around 8:20 p.m., when the hay storage area inside a barn at the High Point Equestrian Center at 572 East Branch Rd. in Patterson caught on fire, according to the Putnam Lake Fire Department.
Arriving fire crews were able to quickly knock out a large portion of the blaze, but found completely extinguishing it difficult because of the heavily stacked hay storage inside the barn. Firefighters worked to eventually remove hay from the barn and put out any persistent embers, the department said.
Around 12 horses were safely taken out of the barn and relocated with help from Putnam County sheriff deputies at the scene.
In addition to the Putnam Lake Fire Department, the Patterson and New Fairfield Fire Departments helped with the response to the blaze, while the Carmel and Brewster Fire Departments covered the department's response area during the incident.
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