NEW HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — A business and a home were destroyed in a massive fire at a veterinary hospital for horses in New Hill on Monday morning.
Fire crews worked for more than eight hours to extinguish the flames at 3H Equine Hospital and Mobile Veterinary Services. A call regarding a fire came in around midnight and firefighters from multiple towns responded to the call.
The facility, which is off Poole Road East, offers "a full range of veterinary services available 24 hours a day" for the equine community, according to the vet hospital's website.
Fernando Cardenas, owner of 3H, and his wife lived on top of the barn and now their home is gone after being ravaged by this morning's fire.
Cardenas told CBS 17 he woke up around 11:30 p.m. Sunday after hearing his home and business burning.
"I think [we] were very lucky that I was able to just hear crackling noise right outside my window, and then be able to wake my wife up to call 911. And then just run down and start taking horses out as fast as we could," he said.
Cardenas was able to get five horses in the barn out to safety but they lost at least one dog in the fire, and possibly two or three cats.
He said he's not sure how the fire started but he believes it could have been due to an electrical issue.
"Horse barns, you know have so much dust and I suspect it was an electrical outlet. We don't keep any hay in the barns and so it was probably strictly an electrical fire," Cardenas said.
Cardenas said the community has already stepped up to help. He and his wife will be staying in a friend's camper and the goal, he said, is to continue serving the community.
"We're going to probably rent a construction trailer so that we can, you know, answer the phones and stock inventory so that we can continue [and] not let our clients down and be able to provide the service," he said.
Cardenas told CBS 17 the business has been open since 2004 and he's hoping that insurance will cover the damages but he isn't sure yet if it will.
A GoFundMe has been created to help 3H rebuild.
The cause of the fire has not been determined at this point and the investigation has just begun.
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