Five horses have died following a barn fire in Milton early Friday morning.
The fire broke out at the First Line Training Centre, located at 13730 First Line, at around 1:40 a.m.
Halton Regional Police along with firefighters from Milton and Halton Hills responded to the incident.
Joe Stutzman, the owner of the facility, told reporters that 37 Standardbred horses and one pony were in the barn at the time. Two died in the fire and three others had to be euthanized based on a vet's assessment. He added that five more are being monitored at Guelph University.
The uninjured horses have been taken to be housed at Mohawk Racetrack in the interim.
"It is just such a sinking feeling, a devastating feeling. I give kudos to the fire department. Because of them, we were able to save most of the horses. It was amazing. They risked their lives to save the horses," Stutzman said.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
"In my opinion, just walking around the building, there is a tractor on the outside of the building that was plugged in that had a block heater in it. That appears to me to be the source," Milton Fire Chief Dave Pratt said.
"We’ll bring the investigation team in first thing in the morning once there is light and then we’ll do a thorough investigation to determine origin and cause."
Stutzman said the barn did have fire extinguishers but did not have sprinklers.
