YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A barn was destroyed and a puppy was injured after first responders battled an early morning fire in York County on Monday.
Firefighters were called out to a barn on Valley Acres Road just after 4 a.m. on March 4, according to York County 911 Dispatch.
Justin Poole, assistant fire chief with the Wrightsville Fire Department, says the hay barn is a total loss. The fire also spread to an attached apartment, but everyone made it out safely. Smoke and fire did damage the residence, however.
The property owners were not home at the time of the fire.
The blaze was started by a heat lamp being used to keep puppies in the barn warm, according to Eric Strittmatter, fire chief with Hellam Fire Company. The lamp was too close to hay in the barn, which ignited.
The fire chief says one puppy was burned and taken to an animal hospital for treatment.
Battling the fire was difficult, as crews had to pump water more than 2,000 feet due to a lack of hydrants in the area, Strittmatter said.
A FOX43 crew at the scene says Valley Acres Road and other streets in the area were blocked off while first responders worked on the fire.
Firefighters remind the public that heat lamps should always be closely monitored and should never be used in close proximity to anything that is flammable.