Fire Prevention In Barns, Part 2

Last week, I presented part one of my fire safety blog, where I stated some pretty sobering statistics about barn fires. This weeks blog, while a tad longer than I prefer, will cover barn designs, electrical systems and suppression systems.

Barn Design

 Everything about a barn construction screams fire hazard: from the wood construction often used, to bedding, rubber mats, hay and landscaping, every barn is a potential fire waiting to happen. Therefore, prevention is critical through management practices, facility design, emergency planning and drills.

 Most barns are designed for aesthetics, based on tradition, while fire safety takes a back seat. Fire marshals are not consulted, let alone any other fire safety expert. Many barns were built before the NFPA (National Fire Protection Assn.) updated their codes in 2013 for animal housing and have not been retrofitted to accommodate the changes. Additionally, not all jurisdictions require these standards, so not all new builds are guaranteed to meet the codes. NFPA Standard 150-Animal Facilities should be consulted when building a barn, especially when considering layout for evacuations.

If living quarters are being planned in the barn, NFPA Standard #101-1973- Life Safety Code should be followed. It is important to note that insurance is not available in most states for barns with apartments above the stalls, unless strict fire protection is provided in the construction.

 Many construction materials used in barn design are conducive to fires. If building new, consider using materials which will not ignite or burn as fast, such as masonry, heavy timber or fire retardant woods. Many barns will use varnishes on their wood walls, which will only help to spread the flames of fire. There are however, fire retardant varnishes on the market, which will help in slowing the spread of smoke and flames. Only these products should be used in a barn. Temperatures will reach 1800 degrees at the ceiling level within minutes and within 3-5 minutes to approach the flash point, where all combustibles within that space will ignite. In most barns, this is usually the loft, where hay and bedding may be stored, which further fuels the fire. That is why compartmentalization (separate barn for shaving and hay) is recommended.

 Most fires start 3 feet off the ground, whether from a cigarette butt or a sparking outlet. Flames will climb quickly to the roof, through insulation or combustible materials. Even concrete barns will burn, as the rafters and trusses are wood, as are the doors, not to mention bedding, hay and rubber mats. Concrete contributes to insulation of heat after it starts due to heat in its walls and steel rafters will weaken from heat of trapped air and fail and collapse: falling rafters and ceilings are the greatest hazard to rescue personnel in a barn fire.

 Metal absorbs heat faster than wood. Many new barns use lightweight wood trusses with metal gusset plates or joint connectors instead of nails. They are stronger and cheaper and offer more clear span, but they have a poor fire rating.

 When building a barn, things to take into account include:

 -Attempts should be made to increase the time it takes a fire to reach the flash point. This can be achieved by modifying building materials, finishes and contents, compartmentalization with fire resistant barriers, separation of combustables, high ceiling heights and/or large room volumes.

 -Flame rate spread should be taken into account when building a barn: this is the time it takes to travel the surface of material. For example, concrete block has a value of 0 while dry red oak has a value of 100. By using flame retardant lumbar, the spread of flames is decreased by 75% to a rating of 25.

- Low Smoke Development Ratings take into account material which produces less smoke as it burns. Less smoke means better visibility, less noxious gases and fewer sparks.

-Fire Ratings are how long a material may block progression of a fire. The better the rating, the slower (minutes) fire spreads. It is a complicated rating however, as metal siding will have a low (good) flame spread rate, but it is a good heat conductor, which is a poor fire rating, because combustible items touching it may ignite.

 -Suppression methods, whether fire extinguishers, hoses and water connections and water availability (hydrants, dry hydrants) as well as sprinkler systems (wet, dry) should be evaluated and maintained.

- Fundamentally, many barns are built with no concern of how to evacuate horses in event of a fire. Center aisles with no doors on the back side of each stall will trap horses in a burning barn, especially horses that are located closer to the center of the barn. Prioritize the most valuable horses close to ends of the barn if secondary exits to the outside wall are not available.

Fire trucks should be able to easily find the property by a reflective number at the road and be able to enter the property, and there should never be vehicles or trailers parked near the barn, preventing fire trucks from having easy access. There will be no time to move vehicles out of the way once there is a fire, so it is imperative to have designated parking spaces, especially in boarding facilities. Fire trucks should have access to water, preferably from a hydrant but otherwise from an accessible pond or swimming pool (less than 10 feet from a gravel parking area and no more than 10 feet lower than the truck.) Gates should be wide enough with reflective street numbers. In addition, the ground should be hard enough for a 20 ton fire truck to sit on and not worry about getting stuck. If the property has a gate, there needs to be a plan on how the fire truck can access the property. The fire station and local police should have a copy of the key if the gate is locked or know the gate code.

 Barns should be kept clean and free of debris in the aisle ways. Cobwebs and dust are combustible and can prevent sprinklers from being 100% effective. Dust and cobwebs should be removed often and while doing so, inspect and clean fans, electrical systems and detection systems.

 The best designed barns with fire safety in mind will have several entrances and exits, located not only at each end of the barn, but with several more located throughout the barn, as well as doors exiting to the outside located in tack and feed rooms and lounges. Doors should be on the backside of every stall. There should be openings every 50-75 feet and there should never be a dead end. Openings should be wide and tall enough to lead a horse through. Horses will not want to leave the safe confines of their stall when there is smoke and flames (their lungs can’t take it and neither can yours!) and total chaos, and it is never safe to be in the interior aisles of a burning barn, due to the risk of falling structure, so having an egress on the back of each stall will increase their chances of being rescued- having a small paddock for each stall on the outside wall are even better, giving the animal a chance to self-evacuate. Holding areas or fire lanes will provide a safe area in which to release horses. Roof vents will slow the heat build up, allowing gases and heated air to leave, but are rarely considered in barn construction. Through modification or in new barn builds, every attempt should be made to increase the amount of time that it takes a fire to reach its flash point. Construction of barns should be designed to limit fire spread, maintain the integrity of the structure and maintain fire escape routes.

 One of the leading causes of barn fires are electrical in nature. If building new, use an electrical blueprint to insure sufficient electrical service to the barn. Only professional electricians should be used and they should be made aware of what types of appliances the typical barn uses, from hot water, air conditioning, bucket heaters, lightning rods, infra-red heaters, microwaves, washer and dryers and fans. For existing barns, an electrician should be hired to review the wiring, panel box and outlets to ensure that everything is up to date and safe. Electrical boxes should be located in an easy to access location and should always be kept closed and free of dust, cobwebs and humidity. Combustible material should never be stored near an electrical box. All employees should know where the panel box and breaker are located as well. In addition, consider installing a main electrical switch on the exterior of the barn, which will allow for electricity to the entire barn to be cut off at once.

 Most issues which are electrical in nature include exposed wires, chewed cords, lack of conduit, wires within reach of horses, use of extension cords, incorrect use of fans which are not rated for barns, lighting, lack of outdoor panels or outlets and an insufficient/overloaded sized panel. These are all red flags and are ignition sources to barn fires. While it may be costly to bring everything up to code, many insurance companies will offer a lower premium for making the necessary safety changes.

 For established barns, especially those much older, consult with a certified electrician to bring your barn up to date and to code. Most insurance companies will offer a rebate or lower your premiums, which will offset the cost. One barn in Virginia fully upgraded four large horse barns, several equipment and tractor barns, several living areas in the barns, a large home and several employee homes for $500,000, but they reported that the premium dropped so much that it paid for itself within 5 years.

 Only outdoor rated fans with a closed motor should be used and they should be cleaned and inspected often and installed by a certified electrician. All wiring should be UL Listed (Underwriters Laboratories.) The use of extension cords should be kept to a minimum and only outdoor rated and heavy duty cords should be used. They should never be accessible to a horse, whether by mouth of by stepping on the cord. When not in use, they should be disconnected and only one cord should be utilized, rather than connecting multiple short cords to one another. Light switches should also be out of reach of horses. Portable heaters should never be used in a barn setting. If they are utilized in a tack room or lounge, they should only be used when people are present and always unplugged when not in use.

Electric bucket heaters have caused their share of deaths. In Lebanon, Ohio, 35 horses perished in 1989 when a fire was started by an electric water bucket heater. A disconnected prong that was still warm had been placed near some rags, causing a fire. In November 2000, 20 Standardbreds died when a portable submersible electric water heater was placed in a plastic bucket and left unattended. After the fire, officials recovered what remained of the heater, with plastic melted to it, against a wooden wall, where the fire started.

Any type of heater can fail and cause a fire. If you are going to use one, it is imperative that you never leave it unattended, unplug when not in use and use care when setting the appliance down. They can blow over or radiate heat onto bedding, rags, blankets, hay and tack, and create an environment for a fire by drying the object out. A barn fire in Clarence, New York in 1991 left 40 horses dead when a fire was started by a faulty electric hot water tank. Rescue spokespersons for the fire department stated that the barn was fully engulfed by the time they arrived, with only 3 horses being rescued.

Many barn owners mistakenly believe that barns should be heated and closed up tight in the winter, but the truth is, the heat from the horses bodies will usually suffice and keep the barn from getting too cold. While horses should never be in a draft, there should be fresh air and it should be able to circulate. Fires often go undetected in a barn that is closed up tight in the middle of the night, many times these fires were detected only due to somebody driving by and noticing the flames. If you are concerned about your horses staying warm, use blankets and provide extra hay to help keep them warm.

 Because lightning is a major cause of fires, lightning rods should be professionally installed. Rods which are well grounded will reduce fires and injury or death from strikes by diverting energy to the ground.

 Lastly, install a main shut off switch near the barn, which can be modified to exclude the water pump and sprinkler system.

 Suppression and Warning Systems

 Barn fires involving combustible material will double in size every 1 minute, so the need for prompt action will be dependent upon early warning systems.

 Many barns do not incorporate detection systems, mistakingly believing that they are of no use in a barn setting. After doing everything possible to prevent barn fires, detection systems are the next best way to combat fires.

 Smoke can smolder for hours, even days, without an open flame. Having smoke detectors located in multiple areas of the barn will alert everyone to a potential problem. At the very least, barn owners can install smoke detectors throughout the barn, especially in areas where hay and bedding is stored, as well as in feed and tack rooms and lounges. The cheap Walmart detectors are not sufficient for use in barns! By having professional installation, there can be direct communication with a security system or to 911, which will increase the response time, especially at night, when nobody is in the barn to hear the alarm. Most systems will also alert the staff or owner, allowing for time to rescue horses.

 It is imperative to keep smoke detectors clean of dust and cobwebs. They should be inspected often, tested, maintained and monitored. It is not uncommon for dust to set off most smoke detectors, but they should be installed in all enclosed spaces, such as tack rooms, feed rooms, lounges and living quarters. For more open areas, consider installing photoelectric or ionization types of smoke detectors

 Suppression systems are also underutilized with the belief that they will not save horses, or that they are too expensive. However, in 2014, 35 horses were saved at Plainridge Racecourse in Boston, Ma, when a suppression system was activated during a fire. Alternatively, 7 of 8 barns at a racetrack in San Luis Rey California caught on fire from cinders from a wildfire 2 miles away and lost 48 of the 450 horses on the property in 2017, when there was no suppression system in place.

 Suppression systems can add 20-25% to building costs, and therefore are ignored, but once again, the payoff will be in lowered insurance premiums, as much as 50%, not to mention the lives saved and value of the animals and the structure involved. Another argument is that suppression systems will not work in certain climates, however there are systems designed for both hot and cold climates.

 Wet systems will not work in sub-zero temperatures due to pipes freezing and potentially bursting, however dry systems can be installed for such climates. In a dry sprinkler system, pipes are filled with compressed air or nitrogen, which keeps the water out of the pipes by way of a valve. When the sprinkler head opens due to a temperature variation, the valve opens, releasing a flow of water. The only drawback is that the system needs a separate tank and pump to provide for enough water and pressure. They can be costly, however, once again, the lives potentially saved, as well as the structure cost, cannot be ignored.

 Sprinklers are the best method of suppression. They buy time to rescue horses and to prevent further structural damage.

 Another form of suppression are fire extinguishers. Use ABC classification for barns and one should be placed at every entry, every 50’, in tack and feed rooms, lounges and wherever hay and bedding is stored. They should be no smaller than 10 pounds and should be maintained monthly, by turning upside down. Everyone should be instructed in how to properly use an extinguisher and be sure to check the expiration date!

 Alarm systems have also been shown to work. They are also best installed by a professional. They are activated by heat and while they are reliable, they do need to be in close proximity to the source of heat in order to be activated, which reduces the response time. Fixed-temperature line thermal detectors are recommended for barns to increase the floor area coverage. Flame detectors are another reliable system, however they are more costly than heat detectors. They react to electromagnetic radiation being emitted by flames and are not subject to false alarms. Rate-of-rise heat detectors are less expensive and yet highly reliable.

 Alarm systems should be tested often, monitored and use of the simplest system available will reduce any chance of failure by the alarms.

Next week’s blog will cover anatomy of a barn fire and ways to prevent. We will conclude in 2 weeks with planning and what to do in the event of a barn fire. My deepest gratitude to to Dr. Rebecca Husted for her assistance on this blog!