Firefighters save 28 horses from equipment fire in Cherokee County barn

Nearly 30 horses were rescued by Cherokee County firefighters Thursday as they worked to keep a fire engulfing a piece of heavy equipment from spreading through a barn.

Firefighters were called to investigate smoke on Putnam Ford Drive just after 4:15 p.m., the Cherokee fire department said in a news release. As firefighters drove to the scene, the incident was upgraded to a structure fire. A caller told the 911 dispatcher that a Bobcat skid-steer loader was on fire inside a horse barn.

A Bobcat skid-steer loader was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the horse barn.

When crews arrived, they found the Bobcat on fire, with flames threatening nearby equipment and a pile of sawdust, fire officials said. As a few of the responding firefighters worked to contain the flames, the rest helped safely evacuate 28 horses.

The fire was contained with little damage to the structure, and no people or horses were hurt during the incident, officials said. Before leaving the barn with its owners, firefighters helped ventilate the structure.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire, officials said.