Three horses died in a barn fire Thursday morning in unincorporated St. Lucie County.
The fire happened in the 6000 block of St. Lucie Blvd., west of Keen Road and East of Taylor Dairy Road.
RELATED: Pictures from the scene
According to the St. Lucie County Fire District, one horse was able to escape the barn fire and will survive.
"When we got here, it was just a defensive attack just to keep the fire from spreading into the wildfire season that we're in," said District Chief Mike Merritt with the St. Lucie County Fire District.
Angie Skubic lives next door to where the fire happened. She rushed over when she saw the smoke.
"I was hoping there wasn't any horses in there," Skubic said.
Firefighters said the horses were dead by the time they arrived, most likely due to smoke inhalation.
The one horse that escaped the barn fire got away with minor burns and a cut on its neck, Skubic said.
"It's called horse power. She just did what she had to do to get out. The others tried, but they failed. It's her spirit to live. God was with her," Skubic said.
The cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction, according to responding firefighters.
The horses' owner is now coming back home to Florida from Texas after learning the news.
Skubic said it's heartbreaking as a horse owner to see what happened.
"We love them with all our hearts. We think of them as children," Skubic said.