The luck of a proactive passerby helped save the lives of eight horses in a burning barn early Sept. 10 at Equestrian Park in College Station, Texas. Sixteen died in the fire due to burns and/or smoke inhalation, said property owner Brazos Joe Varisco, and three more were euthanized shortly thereafter due to their injuries. Ten of the barn’s inhabitants were racing Quarter Horses (all of which died in the fire), while the other 17 were boarders.

“This boy (the passerby) was going by on his way home from work, and he kind of knew some of people here,” said Varisco. “When he went by and saw the fire, he drove in and started letting out as many as he could. One boy was living there (an employee of the fellow who owned all the racehorses), but he had no phone. He left to get help, but by the time he got there it was all ablaze. He let out some horses too.”

When Varisco got a call that one of the three barns on his property was on fire, he left his home and hustled to the barn, but when he arrived about 15 minutes later, “It was totally gone,” he said. “The building is a total loss. I can’t say yes or no to whether we’ll rebuild it yet