Yorklyn barn fire kills 11 horses; one flees, survives

Nearly a dozen horses died in a fire Sunday at a Yorklyn farm specializing in breeding Straight Egyptian Arabians, authorities said.

Eleven horses died, Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael G. Chionchio said Monday night, but "one horse managed to flee from the barn."

The first firefighters to arrive, responding from the nearby Hockessin Fire Company, found the barn engulfed in fire, he said.

The fire was reported shortly after 8 p.m. at the Yorklyn Arabians farm off Gun Club Road. A handler there on Monday confirmed the 11 deaths and one survival, but had no other information.

Farm owner Nadia Belkadi was unable to speak Monday. The farm was founded by her father, Ahmad Amer "in his genuine pursuit of beauty," its website says. He died in May, but his daughter continued to run the farm and raise horses.

The Straight Egyptian is the blending of strains of pure, undisputed, desert-heritage horses, according to Barbara S. Lewis, who runs a horse farm near Mena, Arkansas.

Ice and frozen foam coated the mud surrounding the burned barn Monday morning. Thin white smoke could still be seen rising from the charred building, where the animals' carcasses remained.

The morning there was quiet, especially compared with the night before, as nine fire companies battled the blaze. In addition to Hockessin, crews responded from Cranston Heights, Elsmere, Five Points, Mill Creek, Port Penn and Belvedere fire companies, along with Pennsylvania's Avondale, Kennett Square, Longwood and West Grove companies. The fire was controlled by 9:50 p.m.

Barn damage was estimated at $60,000, Chionchio said, but no estimate of the horses' value was given.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3. Contact robin brown at (302) 324-2856 or rbrown@delawareonline.com. Find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @rbrowndelaware.