Storage barn catches fire at Westmoreland Equestrian Center

GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) — A storage barn near the Westmoreland Equestrian Center in Westmoreland County caught fire on Saturday.

Crews were called to the scene just after 3 p.m. No people or animals were injured due to the fire, according to Deputy Fire Chief Ben Rudd.

Video showed flames fully engulfing the structure at the equestrian center.

Fire crews were facing difficulty at the scene because of the large number of hay bales in the storage barn that caught fire, Deputy Fire Chief Rudd added.

"We have a lot of smoldering debris. This is like a storage-type barn. There's a lot of hay, about 300 circle bales of hay, and any time fire gets in there, it's going to smolder for a long time. We'll continue to try to pull it apart using both tools and machinery, but also applying water to it as much as we can."

"It was just unbelievable to see it engulfed in flames," Melissa Lynn, sister of the man who owns the equestrian center, said. "Horses are like family."

And in this case, their family all made it out safe.

"That's your first thought is the horses at an equestrian center, and they already had horses out." Deputy Chief Rudd added. "It's significant. This is a significant fire. There is a lot of loss," Rudd said.

Lynn's thoughts remain with her brother.

"I am just sick over it. My brother is such a hard worker who has dedicated so much time to this horse farm," Lynn said.

An investigation into the fire is ongoing.