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Winnipeg, Man.
23 horses killed in barn blaze


Nearly two dozen horses, part of the horsemanship program at Camp Assiniboia, were killed Jan. 5 in an early morning fire.

Camp Assiniboia, about 16 kilometres west of Winnipeg, is operated by the Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba. A motorist on the Trans-Canada Highway spotted flames from the barn in the night sky and called police just after 4:30 a.m.

Firefighters from the surrounding districts were dispatched, but they arrived too late to save the animals. It took two hours to extinguish the blaze and another hour to make sure that embers wouldn’t reignite.

The fire appears to have started when a blanket near a baseboard heater caught fire, said a Headingley RCMP constable.

Staff who live at the camp were awakened by a neighbour who also saw the fire.

“There was nothing we could do at that time,” said Bob Wiebe, executive director of the camp, adding that a number of smaller animals, including several cats, a peacock, chickens, a goat and a sheep – part of a small petting zoo – were also killed in the fire.

Damage is estimated at about $120,000.

Normally, the horses weren’t kept in the barn, which included a tack shop and riding arena. They had been rounded up Tuesday and placed in stalls in preparation for an appointment with a farrier, said Wiebe.

The 23 horses were a major part of the camp experience, said Wiebe. Groups use the camp year-round. In fact, another group had been booked for the end of the week.

Wiebe said the Camp will be replacing the barn and the horses.

 – Winnipeg Sun, Winnipeg Free Press, Camp Assiniboia Regional Committee

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Last modified May 4, 2000.

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