Ellington barn burns down; all people, horses escape injury

A morning fire in Ellington on Friday destroyed a barn at a riding school, but all 35 horses in the barn got out safely, as well as a man in an upstairs apartment at the time the fire broke out.

Christy Morin, owner of Hillside Stable LLC at 267 Jobs Hill Road, said 35 horses in the barn — nine owned by Morin and some owned by boarders — were being fed by herself and one of the boarders when the fire broke out just after 9 a.m.

“I saw the smoke coming out over the roof of the building. I ran in and started letting the horses loose and letting them out,” Morin said. “My boyfriend was asleep in the apartment when it started. I ran in yelling and the room started to fill with smoke.”

All 35 horses, as well as four others who were stabled near the barn, escaped without injury. None of the people were hurt.

Nine of the horses got lost for a while. “People found them on the roads and around town,” Morin said.

Hillside Stable moved to Ellington a year and a half ago, after doing business for nine years in Glastonbury. Morin said she spent those months renovating the barn extensively.

The displaced horses will be stabled temporarily in an indoor riding arena.

Town Fire Chief Jack Rich said 50 firefighters from seven towns assisted in putting out the fire in the barn, which was 120 feet long by 60 feet wide. The fire was put out in about an hour and a half

“We had an excavator pick apart the hay. They were dense, tightly packed bales. You have to spread it out to get all the hot spots,” he said. The hay will smolder for a few days, he said.

The cause of the fire is not known. The town fire marshal is investigating.