One of the grooms saw the fire and turned in the fire alarm. He then called for assistance to help getting the horses out of the stable. Several explosions were reported by spectators. Firemen in cars and trucks had a difficult time trying to get to the fire because of construction going on and spectators jamming the road. The personnel at Ox Ridge were whipping the horses to get them out of the barn.
Horses tend to want to be in their own stables when they are scared, even if it is on fire.
At first all of the horses began to charge the fire trucks and firemen trying to get back into the stables, but fortunately no one was hurt and the horses were safely lead out onto the field. The Darien Police reported that their switchboard was lit up for hours with the horse owners trying to find out if their horses were killed in the fire. It was estimated that there were over 100 volunteers from Darien's' three departments.