A farm in the town of Mantua caught fire Thursday evening, resulting in the loss of more than 20 goats and the destruction of the main barn, according to the cousin of the barn owner.

News 5

News 5 was at the scene of the fire and spoke to Nicholas Nowak and Ronnie Kotowski, cousins ​​of the barn owner.

“They had just left, and they went to Kent for dinner and called him and said, ‘Hey, where are you?’ Your barn is on fire,” Kotowski said.

News 5

Family members told News 5 the barn owner had lived there his entire life.

The cows were at the scene of the fire, but outside the barn and remained safe.

Apart from the loss of goats, no one was injured.

The barn behind the main barn, known as the corn crib, was saved thanks to the rapid intervention of firefighters on site.

News 5

A neighbor told News 5 they tried to save the goats but couldn’t get there in time.

The family told News 5 that a neighbor arrived in time to save the family dog, which was slightly injured.

“Everyone was running down the road to help in any way they could.” said Nowak, “I mean we were helping the firefighters, pulling (the) hose. I mean anything to help.”

As the family considered next steps, they asked for prayers.

“It’s especially with everything that’s going on that we can all come together in a time of (unfortunately) tragedy,” Nowak said.

Local authorities tell News 5 the cause of the fire is under investigation.