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New Enterprise fire kills two Clydesdales, puppies

NEW ENTERPRISE — A Tuesday afternoon fire claimed two Clydesdale horses and several puppies at an award-winning Morrisons Cove breeder, the Southern Cove fire chief said.

Chief Brian Walter of the Southern Cove Volunteer Fire Co. said the barn fire at 335 Furry’s Orchard Road, New Enterprise, claimed several animals. The barn, which belonged to the family that owns Orchard View Clydesdales and Furry’s Old English Sheepdogs, was lost in the blaze, he said.

“It was pretty well gone when we got there. The structure was still there, but as far as trying to find any evidence or anything like that … there wouldn’t be anything there to actually look at,” Walter said.

Walter said it appeared likely that heat lamps ignited the blaze, but he did not definitely claim a cause.

The residents at the farm’s neighboring house were home when the fire broke out about 2 p.m. Tuesday, Walter said, but no one was injured. The fire came dangerously close to the house at times, melting some of its siding, he said.

“They were pretty lucky,” Walter said. “If the wind was blowing the other direction toward the house (it would have caught). … It was almost on fire when we got there.”

The barn’s owners, Tammy Styer and Derry Furry, have bred Clydesdales for years, according to their website. Their horses — some of which were born as recently as 2013 — have won awards and placed in shows and competitions.

A call to Orchard View Clydesdales was not returned Thursday afternoon.

Walter said the fire drew an emergency response from several area departments, with firefighters from Roaring Spring, Imler, Bedford, Everett and Six Mile Run aiding those from Southern Cove.

Mirror Staff Writer Ryan Brown is at 946-7457.

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