WARRENTON, Va. — The owners of a Warrenton farm are expressing their gratitude to the community who has rallied behind them.
Wednesday afternoon, one of the barns at Mannino Farm on Opal Rd in Warrenton, went up in flames.
"I ran through here and got the chicks out and she got the hoses," said Angelina Mannino.
Angelina Mannino and her sister, Felesha Mannino, said they saw some smoke coming from the barn, and immediately got to work getting the animals who were still in the barn out safely. Luckily, most of the animals had been moved into a different barn a few days earlier, because of some work they'd been doing.
"We had cleared everyone out of here to make it easier, because it was really hot in here," Angelina Mannino said. "Thank God, because, if we had had everyone in here, we would have gotten smoked out."
The Mannino family had just finished two years worth of renovations.
"To watch it burn down like this, was really emotional for many of us," said Jennifer Roman, a friend of the family.
The Mannino sisters were hoping to make the farm a community farm.
"I've always felt farmers, everyone kind of gatekept," Felesha Mannino said. "You couldn't just go pet horses or go pet sheep and cows. I wanted to be a place where people could be able to come here and see livestock and interact with livestock and understand what goes in to raising them. Because, I know it's hard for some people to understand, 'you're going to raise these animals for food?', and that's hard for some people to understand how much love and effort goes into that."
That community the Mannino sisters hoped to invite to their far came out in full force to support them. Within minutes of the flames coming through the roof, people were coming up the driveway, trying to help.
"I mean strangers just lined up. When I called 911 they said someone had already called, so plenty of people are on the way," said Angelina Mannino.
"I want them all to know, I was incredibly grateful that they all showed up," added Felesha Mannino.
Both sisters said the support has not eased up.
"They're still calling, saying 'what do you need, and when you clean up let us know we'll come.' They're still texting -- people I don't even know," said Felesha Mannino.
Luckily, it does not appear that any of the animals were injured, but a lot of their supplies were destroyed.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with costs so they can rebuild. But for now, the Mannino sisters just want to say thank you.
"Neighbors are important," Angelina Mannino said. "Be a part of your community and if you see something call 911."