‘It’s been very painful’: More than a dozen animals die in early morning barn fire

By Peyton Headlee

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    PAOLA, Kansas (KMBC) — A family in Paola is heartbroken after losing more than a dozen animals in an early morning barn fire. Now, the Johnson-Schenk Rescue and Alpaca Farm is looking for ways to move forward.

Since 2019, Britt Johnson-Schenk and her husband Cameron have run a non-traditional animal rescue – housing and caring for animals like donkeys, horses, llamas, alpacas, goats, etc.

Not all of their animals are rescues, but most of them are.

“All of the horses are. For instance, they’ve all come from essentially a kill pen, and they are not here to be ridden or used for anything. They’re just here. It’s like their retirement home. This is really our goal for them,” Johnson-Schenk said.

This is a hobby for them — meaning their operating costs come almost entirely out of their own pocket.

“They’re really our pets. You know, this isn’t a moneymaking deal. This is a money-losing deal. Big time,” Johnson-Schenk said.

Early Thursday morning, one of their barns caught fire. By the time they made it outside, there was nothing they could do.

“It was all ablaze,” she said. “There was no getting into the barn. There was there was no saving any animals.”

They lost 14 alpacas and one goat. One of the alpacas had just been born less than three weeks ago.

“It’s been really hard for everybody,” she said. “We treat them like we do most people treat their dogs and cats.”

They also used the barn for storage — losing two trucks and a tractor, too.

“Everything. Everything is completely destroyed,” she said.

Monday afternoon, smoke still rose from their old barn. Still, their focus remains on the animals they have left and giving them the best care they can.

“We love our animals and we’re going to keep taking care of the ones that we have,” she said.

They still don’t know the cause of the fire but said the barn did have electricity. They’re waiting for it to warm up a little bit before they start cleaning up.

There is a GoFundMe set up to help them bounce back. More than $4,000 has been raised. They said all money will go toward feed and animal care.

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