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Firefighters Battle 3 Beaver Co. Fires

ALIQUIPPA (KDKA)- It was a busy and dangerously cold morning for firefighters in Beaver County and a devastating morning for three families.

In Brighton Township just before 4 a.m., a barn full of animals caught fire. Only two horses could be rescued.

"A third horse they attempted to rescue. The horse was on fire. So, they took their coats off and got the fire out on the horse, but upon later examination, the horse had to be put down," Dominic Degidio said.

The family lost four show horses and 50 sheep. The family is devastated that they could not do anything to rescue the animals.

"These were the two that we were able to save. So we're gonna get them warmed up and get them in shelter and see what goes on from there," Degidio said.

That wasn't the only fire going on at the time.

In nearby Aliquippa, two more fires broke out within an hour of each other. Firefighters were covered in ice as they battled bitterly cold temperatures.

"Our problem is, we have three major fires going on at the same time so we got everything split up, resources split up," Wes Hill of Beaver County Emergency Services said. "Everybody so far is good except they're about half froze. They're hurting."

Around 3:40 a.m. on Wykes Street, a couple had to jump off the back roof of their home to escape.

Firefighters rushed there only to be called out to another fire on Richie Street, which consumed the house and burned for hours.

"When water starts to freeze up, the pump on the truck froze up, you're behind the eight ball right out of the gate," Aliquippa Fire Chief Dave Foringer said.

Foringer said. said the folks at the home on Wykes Street suffered minor injuries. The man suffered minor smoke inhalation, while the woman suffered a minor ankle injury.

Stay with KDKA-TV for the latest on this string of fires in Beaver County.

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