Seven Horses Rescued From Barn Collapse on Mile Hill Road

Seven horses were rescued from a barn collapse at 364 Mile Hill Rd. on Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters were dispatched to the location at 3 p.m., responding to a report of a barn collapse with possible horse entrapment, Fire Chief and Public Safety Supervisor John C. Littell said. A call was made to the Department of Public Works (DPW) for front loaders and excavators.

When firefighters arrived at Mile Hill Road, they discovered that a horse named Goldie was pinned to its knees, with the roof of the barn on the animal’s back, Littell said.

“Firefighters were able to get the horse unpinned by removing the door and then lifting the roof,” he said.

The DPW cleared the backyard of deep snow to get trailers up to the site, said Littell.

Animal Control Officers and volunteer animal handlers helped to bring the six other horses out of the barn. “A couple of firefighters grabbed a couple of horses after they were tethered,” he said. Members of the Parks and Recreation Department also aided the rescue.

“This is a devastating situation,” Littell said. “But all the horses are living and have been relocated.” Some were relocated to a farm on Shenipsit Lake.

“This is another example of the collaboration between Public Safety and Public Works,” he said. “It’s a great ending from the beginning of delivering a baby in the middle of a storm to the rescue here today.”

On Jan. 30, Tolland resident Cynthia Mello’s water broke in the middle of the large storm. Tolland Firefighter/Emergency Medical Responders and Technicians worked with DPW to bring the mother expecting her second child to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford.

This latest barn collapse is one of an overwhelming number of building collapses that have occurred over the last few weeks. Three horses were trapped when a  in Somers on Jan. 27.  Two had to be euthanized due to injuries sustained.

According to the Department of Agriculture, more than 300 agricultural structures on 99 farms have either totally or partially collapsed as a result of snow loads from recent snowstorms.