Barn at Last Stop Farm in Ottawa County ‘went up like a matchstick’
ROBINSON TWP. — The owners of a local horse farm say they're feeling supported by the community after the loss of the farm’s major structure, a barn, in a fire last week.
“When I came outside, the barn was fully engulfed in flames,” said co-owner Jennifer Welling-Warner, who owns Last Stop Farm with her father and husband. “We have ... bales of hay in the barn. I’m sure it went up like a matchstick.”
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Six area fire departments responded to the 12-acre property around 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, after multiple calls were made to authorities.
“We’re very grateful for their hard work,” Welling-Warner said of the fire crews, who were on-scene for about six hours. “It’s still under investigation.”
Welling-Warner said she didn’t want to “speculate” on the cause of the fire, but she and fire officials have considered bales of hay or a tractor as potential causes, pending the investigation. When the fire started, Welling-Warner said her father, Ron Welling, was gathering bales of hay to bring to the horses’ “hay huts.”
The barn was around 10,000 square feet. It housed mainly hay, as well as a horse bathing station and a variety of equipment. One tractor, as well as 250 bales of hay, were a total loss.
“It had stalls in it, but no horses were kept in there,” Welling-Warner said of the barn. “But all the boarders’ lockers were in there with all of their tack (equipment).”
There are 22 horses that live at Last Stop Farm, Welling-Warner said. Thirteen belong to boarders who can visit them anytime.
“We feed the horses and take care of them, but they come and ride their horses," she said. "We have trails here.”
At the time of the fire, Welling-Warner said, the horses were outside and were quickly moved to other pastures.
Since the fire, the family has received support through donations of food, hay bales, equipment and more.
Welling-Warner said Jerry Schultz Excavating, of Grand Haven, came out Sunday to help.
“He got our water running again and said, ‘That’s what neighbors do,’ and didn’t charge us a dime,” she said. “This community has just been amazing.”
Welling-Warner said her family purchased the property in April from her father’s late wife’s daughter. Ron Welling has worked on the farm for 12 years.
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Welling-Warner said the barn and home on the property were built in 1995.
“We do plan to rebuild,” she said, adding the barn was fully insured.
While the farm is still open and running, Welling-Warner said some boarders have temporarily moved their horses to other facilities.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Barn at Last Stop Farm in Ottawa County ‘went up like a matchstick’
