Stable Fire: 30 Horses Die In Blaze Just Outside Chicago, Number Could Go Even Higher

A fire swept through a stable near Chicago Saturday night, causing more than 30 horses to die and leaving the family that owns the stable devastated. State fire officials are now investigating what set off the blaze that apparently killed at least 30 and possibly as many as 32 of the 37 horses boarded at Valley View Acres in McHenry County, Illinois, an unincorporated area outside of the Windy City.

“This is the first time in 35 years I don’t own a horse. I don’t know what to do anymore,” said the stable’s distraught owner, Amber Bauman, age 40. “It’s every barn owner’s worst thing you can ever hear.”

Bauman said her son woke up shortly before 11 pm Saturday evening when he heard what she called “an awkward sound.” When he looked out the window, he saw the Bauman’s family-owned stable engulfed in flames.

The cause of the deadly fire that killed a reported 32 horses remains unknown. The five horses who survived the fire were located in a pasture not far from the stable. Whether they were grazing there when the blaze broke out, or whether they escaped has yet to be determined.

In either case, the five horses that did not die were unscathed.

The other 32 apparently were not as lucky. Veterinarians were at the stable on Sunday to help identify the dead horses — valued at over $1 million, with each horse worth between $50,000 and $75,000.

Some of the horses belonged to the Bauman family, while others were boarded in the stables by other owners.

“There was a lot of hay – there was a lot of stuff – and it’s going to be a while until we can sort all this out,” said Crystal Lake Fire Chief Paul Deraedt, when firefighters faced a major challenge in battling the blaze due to a lack of fire hydrants in the rural area.

Fire departments from surrounding communities had to be called in to help extinguish the blaze, which was finally subdued after more than 90 minutes, at about 12:30 am Sunday morning.

One firefighter suffered minor injuries battling the stable fire, but otherwise, no human beings were hurt in the raging blaze.

Among the horses to die in the stable fire was Amber Bauman’s own pet horse, Eve — a horse purchased by the stable owner when she was just 10-years-old, for what seemed like the steep price at the time of $82 and change. Losing that horse, Bauman said, was “kind of like saying goodbye to what’s left of your childhood.”