CONNOQUENESSING TWP — The horses survived, but the barn did not in an early-morning fire.

Butler County 911 dispatched firefighters around 5:55 a.m. to 826 Whitestown Road.

“We were sleeping in bed,” said homeowner Cheryl Harshall.

“The doorbell rang 10 times,” said her husband, Tawn Harshall. “You could see flames out of the back of the barn.”

According to the owners, neighbor Rick Brown was the one who alerted them, and then he assisted them in releasing their two horses housed in the barn.

“We just got the horses up before it started going up,” Tawn Harshall said.

According to the Harshalls, their two horses were not injured, and one of their two cats has been found safe. They are missing one feral barn cat, whose coat is a marbleized tiger and white.

Shortly after the trio escorted the horses from the barn, firefighters and their engines arrived.

Connoquenessing Fire Chief Lou Zimmerman said he was the first to arrive on scene and found the barn fully engulfed. Zimmerman said the fire was not difficult to battle because no people or horses remained in the barn, and there was a fire hydrant close by.

“It was an outside attack,” Zimmerman said. “It was full of hay for the winter, so that took a little time to rake through that.”

Firefighters from Prospect and Butler Township departments, as well as Butler Ambulance, assisted with the response, which cleared around 8 a.m.

By late morning, the Harshalls continued to survey the damage to their barn and their home, as the former continued to spew smoke from smoldering piles of hay.

The home’s siding appeared warped and rippled, and the PVC fence surrounding the barn and its adjoining pasture sank toward the ground.

Zimmerman had deemed the damaged barn a total loss. According to the Harshalls, the barn was insured.

“It was a nice little barn,” Tawn Harshall said.

“We were lucky it didn’t get the house, too,” Cheryl Harshall said.

Tawn Harshall said their neighbors have come together and offered them a great amount of support. He said one neighbor has been housing their two horses for them, and other neighbors have offered the same.

Both Harshalls highly praised Brown, who had told them he was walking his dogs when he saw a glowing luminescence behind their home. Tawn Harshall said that without Brown’s help, the fire could have taken a lot more than a barn he had made with his own hands in 1980, some saddles and tools. He said it could have taken lives.

“He’s a hero,” Tawn Harshall said. “He saved the day.”