SUGARCREEK TWP., Greene County — "The barn and the house, those are things that can be replaced," said John Dunn. "The horses, though, there's no way to replace them."

An early Friday morning barn fire at the Dunn's barn killed 11 horses and heavily damaged the attached house where he and his wife were sleeping.

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Leslie Shields, a friend and former employee of the Stables at Sugarcreek, 2585 Penewit in Sugarcreek Twp. looks out over the ruins of a horse barn where 11 horses died Friday morning.Click to enlarge

Three of the horses belonged to the Dunn family, and the eight others were being boarded at the stables, Dunn said. Dunn said the stables on his 35-acre property on Penewit Road east of Bellbrook are a sideline business for him, and about a dozen horses that were housed in a second barn were not hurt.

Dunn said his wife, Katie, was treated for smoke inhalation but was released from the hospital early Friday afternoon.

Four firefighters received minor injuries in falls at the scene, said Chief Randall Pavlak of the Sugarcreek Twp. Fire Department.

"The scene was a solid sheet of ice when we got here," Pavlak said. "Every time we moved a ladder or something it was really tricky."

When fire crews arrived the barn was engulfed in flames, and the fire had spread to an upstairs bedroom in the house. Pavlak said the horses in the barn could not be saved, and fire crews concentrated on trying to save as much of the house as possible.

The barn was full of fuel for the fire, including an upper level full of hay, wood pellets used to heat the house and a propane tank that ruptured, Pavlak said.

Fire crews and equipment from Washington, Beavercreek, Spring Valley and Xenia townships and from the city of Bellbrook assisted Sugarcreek Twp. crews, Pavlak said.

A preliminary investigation indicates the fire started near the electrical panel in the southwest corner of the barn.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2395 or jcummings@DaytonDailyNews.com.