It's often been said that Central Missouri residents are known for helping their neighbors in a time of need.
That was the case for Bob and Tonya Brison.
After a fire destroyed their Fairview Farms saddlebred horse farm on March 7, the outpouring of support has been almost nonstop.
"The investigator for the insurance company told me he had never seen anything like it," Bob said. "It may be something that you only see in the small towns, but so many people came out to help."
The fire was noticed while the Brisons were working with their horses and the structures at the farm were lost in a few minutes.
Three buildings were destroyed, two stables and an indoor arena, and all three averaged 75-by-300 feet in size.
The Brisons' home on the property was undamaged.
"The day of the fire we had people out here with trailers helping to get the horses out," Bob said. "The word got out quickly in the horse community. They called, they texted just making sure we had anything we needed."
Bob said that they had help from all over the county, even horse owners in Canada have been in contact with them.
"One of our friends started a GoFundMe campaign and had a goal of $50,000," he said. "At last report, they had something like $97,000."
"You don't know how many friends you have until something like this happens," Bob added. "It's at times like these that you find out how many friends you do have."
Fairview was known for offering adults and children in the New Bloomfield area horse riding lessons and camps. The Brisons started the farm in their 20s.
"Thirty years later, you don't know if you want to go and start over," Bob said. "But then you have people come out like this, it gives you the incentive to go on."
Officials with the fire marshal's office and insurance investigators told the Brisons the exact cause of the fire would never be determined due to the extent of the damage. However, they were able to determine the fire started in an attic space in one of the barns and due to that location, they believe it's possible an electrical malfunction might have started the fire.
"They said fire can build up in an attic space and once it is exposed to the air it will take off," Bob said. "That day was extremely windy, and once the fire got going it took off like gangbusters."
Over the last couple of weeks, crews have cleared out the remains of the structures from where they sat.
Bob showed drawings of what they hoped would be built back on the same spot.
"We're looking at a barn and an indoor arena, possibly in the same building," he said."It won't be as big as what we had before. We want to try and build it to keep something like this from ever happening again, but a few days after our fire, three other horse farm fires occurred around the country, so it can happen no matter what type of precautions you take."
"I always said I wanted to make this a place to where people can come and just ride," Bob continued. "When I was growing up, most of us had at least one family member who had a horse so getting to see and ride these animals was fairly common. That's not the case any more."
Seven horses and three dogs perished in the fire.
The remaining 36 horses the Brisons were keeping are now being housed at a facility owned by Mark and Kelly Hulse on Route BB until Fairview is rebuilt.
As this recovery moves forward, donations may still be made.
The United Professional Horsemen Association (UPHA) Chapter 5 benefit is an account set up with Lead Bank. Those donations, 100 percent of which goes to Fairview Farm, are tax deductible and should be sent to Lead Bank, attn: Brad Langkamp at 1801 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri, 64108. For more information, go to upachapter5.com.
Also, Marty and Terry Bennett of Bennett's Tack in Harrisonville have set up an account for Fairview Farm. To donate to the tack store account, log on to their website at bennettstack.com, or call toll free, 800-729-2816.
Another donation site is gofundme.com/fairviewfarm. You may donate anonymously, or you can add your name to the list of others who have already donated.
The Brisons said their biggest worry is that they forget to thank those who have helped them, and wish they could let them all know personally how much what they've done means to them, but they know that's not possible.
"The cards and letters from friends and strangers, the kids who sent cards and raised money, the people who came and did our laundry and cleaned the house after the fire," Tonya Brison said. "The students and staff at William Woods University's horse program and at the University of Missouri equine program have been tremendous in giving of their time and talents."
"All this has put our faith back into humanity," Bob said. "There's a lot of good people out there."