Horses Saved, Stable Ablaze at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club

A late night fire ripped through a stable at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club.Up to 14 horses had to be released from their stables as the fire moved from the tack room, where all the polo equipment and saddles are stored.Calls came in around 9:30 p.m. Thursday and the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District was on the scene within minutes.”Units arrived on the scene, they found a stable with the tack rooms involved in fire,” said Fire Chief, Michael D. Mingee.It was the quick thinking of workers at the polo grounds that saved the animals.”They called 9-1-1, the fire department was here very very quickly,” Polo and Racquet Club general manager, Bob Puetz told KEY News. “In the meantime the rest of the grooms that were on the property helped get the horses out of the fire immediately.”The tack rooms were completely destroyed and thousands of dollars worth of equipment was lost.Fire crews put the flames out quickly and thanks to the quick thinking of the grooms working on the grounds no animals were injured.”We were very very fortunate that the guys were here and that it happened when there were still people around and not in the middle of the night,” Puetz said.