A 3-day-old foal perished in a barn fire on Wednesday in Jackson Township, the Porter County Fire Investigation Strike Team (FIST) said.

Firefighters from numerous departments, including the primary responder, the Westville Volunteer Fire Department, were dispatched to the barn at 526 E. U.S. Highway 6 around 11:30 a.m., FIST Director Jim Branham told the Chesterton Tribune today.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined but Branham believes it was accidental in nature and probably electrical in origin. Heat lamps were being used in the care of the foal and the young horse may have kicked them over or they may have malfunctioned, he said. The investigation has been hampered by the collapse of the barn and 344 bales of hay which had been stored in a second-story loft, Branham added.

The Liberty Township Volunteer, Chesterton, and South Haven departments all responded, and the Valparaiso and Washington Township Volunteer departments were placed on stand-by, as a tanker shuttle was organized to transport water to the scene, Branham said.

Both the barn and a Bobcat inside the barn were destroyed and Branham preliminarily estimated damage at $20,000.

Firefighters began clearing the scene around 2 p.m.

Posted 5/22/2008