2 horses die in Lancaster County fire; family escapes home

Two horses died in a Lancaster County barn fire late Thursday and members of a family escaped from an attached home, officials said.

The blaze broke out around 11:30 p.m. in a two-story home with an attached barn in the 3000 block of Cane Mill Road in the Elgin community south of Lancaster, said Fire Marshall Stephen Blackwelder.

Blackwelder said the family was asleep and awoke to the noise of barking dogs. The initial call to firefighters reported that people were trapped in the home, he said.

“Some of them got out, and some were trapped in the house,” Blackwelder said.

He said two adults on the second floor were able to escape from the house with a ladder before fire officials arrived. “They had some assistance with a ladder and got out through a window,” he said.

Blackwelder said other inhabitants on the first floor had been able to get out on their own. Blackwelder said he did not know how many people were living in the home.

Two horses in the attached barn died in the fire, he said.

Blackwelder said the structure was destroyed by fire. No injuries were reported.

Blackwelder said the cause of the fire is being investigated. Further information was not available.

Check back for more details.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 9:48 AM with the headline "2 horses die in Lancaster County fire; family escapes home."