Firefighters battle barn blaze at Hempfield equestrian center, Business Route 66 shut down

No horses were harmed Saturday after a stubborn fire broke out about 3 p.m., then ravaged a storage barn at the Westmoreland Equestrian Center in Hempfield.

The fire briefly closed a section of Business Route 66 in Hempfield, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. The roadway had reopened to traffic by 5 p.m.

Firefighters called the fire — and the damage it caused to the barn — “significant.”

Multiple companies had to battle heavy smoke conditions caused by the burning of about 300 circle bails of hay inside the structure, Hempfield Deputy Fire Chief Ben Rudd said. There also was “smoldering debris.”

Firefighters on Saturday afternoon were working to pull apart the bails and flood them with water to control the smoke, Rudd said.

“This is a significant fire, with a lot of loss,” he told reporters.

Rudd said animals at the center were contained and accounted for Saturday. They were kept in a field as firefighters fought the flames.

“That’s your first thought — the horses — this is an equestrian center,” Rudd said. “But they already had the horses out.”

A fire marshal from the state police will lead the investigation into what caused the fire.

North Hempfield fire units were among engines and tankers dispatched to the center around 3 p.m.

About 20 minutes later, firefighters had a “good knockdown” on the flames but continued to work on dousing the fire, a dispatcher said.

Route 66 was closed between Hempfield Park and the intersection of the Toll 66 Pennsylvania Turnpike Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass.

Westmoreland Equestrian Center offers full boarding for horses, as well as lessons for beginners through advanced riders, according to its Facebook page. They also offer private clinics and workshops.

The center filed for its business license in Pennsylvania on Oct. 25, 1999, according to Department of State records.

Ronald A. Ray and Marcella A. Ray, who state records list as the corporation’s president and vice president, did not return phone calls Saturday seeking comment.