16 horses dead, 13 others rescued after barn fire at Toronto's Sunnybrook Stables

Toronto firefighters spent hours battling a two-alarm fire at Sunnybrook Stables that broke out early Monday morning and killed 16 horses.

A barn caught fire just before 3 a.m. ET and became engulfed in flames before a second, nearby barn starting burning. 

When firefighters arrived, they were able to move 13 horses from the second burning barn to another barn for safekeeping.

"The crews did an excellent job getting the horses out of the second [barn]," said Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Doug Wishart. 

Those horses were later moved to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. 

No horses escaped 

Sunnybrook Stables is located in Sunnybrook Park, just north of Toronto's Leaside neighbourhood. It offers riding classes and summer camps. 

Toronto police Sgt. Sean Cosgrove had been concerned that some horses may have gotten loose during the chaos, and closed the park for the morning while police investigated. 

By noon, the park had been reopened and Cosgrove confirmed that no horses had escaped. 

Fire investigation continues

Cosgrove also confirmed that at this point, nothing indicates that the fire was suspicious. He said the Ontario Fire Marshal would be attending the scene. 

In all, 40 to 50 firefighters were at the scene, with the fire deemed under control by about 6 a.m. ET. 

The Toronto Police mounted unit was also there in the early morning to help transport surviving horses to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. 

Images from the scene in the aftermath of the blaze show surviving horses being led into trailers by officers, who appeared to be visibly emotional.