Fire officials say no horses were injured after a fire caused heavy damage to the inside of a horse barn near Woodstock Wednesday afternoon.
The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded around 2:50 p.m. Wednesday to the area of Stieg Road and Charlotte Drive in unincorporated Woodstock for a report of a structure fire.
A passerby called 911 to report seeing flames coming from a barn and horses possibly inside, according to Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha.
The incident was upgraded to a Working Fire response, prompting additional resources to be dispatched to the scene.
Firefighters arrived a short time later and found light smoke coming from a small open horse-style barn in the 3300 block of Stieg Road.
No visible fire or exterior damage was seen and firefighters began investigating.
Firefighters quickly made contact with the property owner, who reported that he had extinguished the fire prior to the arrival of fire crews.
Firefighters entered the barn and found heavy fire damage throughout the interior.
No active fire was found and the structure was only smoldering.
Several horses were located in an adjacent pasture and were not injured.
Vucha said it is believed that the horses were not in the barn when the fire occurred. No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District.