Unprecedented insurance costs stem from barn fire

The insurance losses from the death of 43 racehorses in a fiery blaze just outside Toronto could be staggering

Property

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The fire chief for Puslinch, Ont., Steve Goode, is suggesting damages stemming from a fire at Classy Lane Stables Training Centre on Monday will reach in to the millions.

Those costs largely centre on the more than 40 horses that died in one of the facility’s barns, although the insurance tab associated with the structure itself is likely to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars themselves.

The blaze has devastated the horseracing community, with fears it could impact insurance premiums for horse owners but also boarding facilities.

“This is absolutely devastating for (the township) and the horse community,”  “This is the highest dollar loss the Township of Puslinch has experienced,” Goode told The Advertizer, pointing out that many of the horses raced “at Woodbine, Flamboro Downs, Mohawk and surrounding areas.”

Dan Lagace was working with seven horses that were being housed at the Classy Lane Stables in the southern Ontario town of Puslinch, about 20 kilometres south of Guelph. All of his animals and three dozen others perished Monday night in a blaze that could only be subdued through the efforts of 50 firefighters from multiple communities.

Lagace said he got word of the fire around 11 p.m. Monday _ around the same time fire officials said the blaze was reported by a neighbour.

He rushed to the scene from his home in nearby Cambridge, but said he could only stand helplessly by as the building that contained both his livelihood and loved ones was engulfed in flames.

“It's almost like losing a child. These horses, they're every part of your life,'' the 38-year-old said in a telephone interview. “On Christmas morning, when other people are opening gifts with their kids and stuff like that, we're out at the farm making sure they're taken care of first. On Sunday mornings when other people are sleeping in, we're there too.''

Lagace said the blaze also represents a devastating professional setback. He said he has virtually nothing left, since equipment amassed over years was also destroyed in the fire.

The economic impact extends well into the closeknit, horse-oriented community, said Classy Lane co-owner Jamie Millier.

Groomers, veterinarians, blacksmiths and other professionals involved in the industry will be feeling the effects of the equine deaths for months to come, he said.

Millier had been vacationing in Florida when he got word of the fire and hastily flew back to Canada to survey the damage. Despite the advance warning, he said he can still barely take it in.

``I'm just waiting to wake up,'' he said. ``It's not real. It's a dream. You don't expect something like this to really happen to you.''

Millier said 43 horses were in the barn when the fire broke out. The death toll would have reached 45, but two other horses normally housed in the barn were out at races at the time.
 

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