photo by Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire
At approximately 6:40 pm on December 24, authorities were notified of a barn fire at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton. The barn on fire was Parlo II West, which is rented by trainer Michael Matz and also houses an equine outpatient veterinary clinic owned and operated by Dr. Kathleen Anderson.
According to the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal, the two-alarm blaze took around 50 firefighters two hours to contain. It is estimated that there is roughly $850,000 worth of damage. All that remains of the structure are the concrete walls.
The barn, which was built in 2005, was empty at the time and no people or horses were injured. Matz had already moved his training operation to Florida for the winter and Dr. Anderson had shut the clinic down around 4pm for the holiday weekend.
The State Fire Marshal also reported that fire alarms were present in the building but it is undetermined if they were activated by the blaze. In addition, the fire report stated that the barn did not have a sprinkler system.
Investigators have determined that the fire started within the interior of the clinic however the cause of the fire has not been determined at this time.
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