Fire Prevention In Barns, The Conclusion

Fire Safety in Barns concludes this week with the topics of emergency planning and what to do in event of a barn fire. Thank you for taking the time to read and share this very important information. If it saves the life of just one horse, it will be well worth it!

Emergency Planning

All barns should have an emergency fire plan, which should be posted. Every boarder and employee should be familiar with the plan and it should be practiced several times a year. Many barns are now requiring boarders to participate in drills and include a copy of the plan in their boarding contract. Not only should your boarders and staff be included on your drill, but your local fire department will be more than happy to participate. By inviting your local rescuers, they can also provide a fire assessment of your barn, they can learn about haltering and leading horses if they are not familiar with doing so and your horses can become familiar with their scary equipment. In addition to posting your emergency plan, a copy of your emergency contact list should also be included and provide both copies to your first responders.

By writing down your plan and practicing it, you will be able to identify any areas where improvement is needed and be able to make changes. Time yourself and your boarders. Remember that a barn will be fully engulfed in as little as 5 minutes and smoke will be dangerous in 3 minutes. Can you run into your barn, halter and lead your horse out to safety in that time period? If not…what is your run out plan for your barn?

Teach your horse to lead with just a lead rope around his neck. Practice not just leading around the barn, but as they become proficient at it, throw in challenges, such as leading at night in the dark, with loud noises and any other chaotic challenges you can create. By asking your local fire department out, they can acclimate your horses to their clothing, helmets and oxygen tanks. Ask your horse to lead with a lead rope during these visits. Be sure to have an area where your horses can be safely released, without them running to the road or getting in the way of rescuers and hoses. The last thing anyone wants is for someone to be kicked or run down by a frantic horse, or for a horse to be saved from a fire, only to be hit by a car or injured by the equipment.

Keep extra halters and lead ropes, as well as extra fire extinguishers in a separate building, close to your barn and within easy reach. The last thing anyone wants to have to do is to be searching for any of those items. They should be hung immediately inside the doorway and be used only for emergencies.

Boarders should insist upon barns having emergency plans and performing drills. If there are unsafe practices, such as box fans being utilized instead of safer fans with closed motors, it may be a money issue. Boarders can offer to pay for new fans for their stalls, which is a small price to pay for peace of mind, and the barn owner will be very appreciative that such an important matter was able to be resolved.

Despite Your Measures, You Have A Fire. What Do You Do?

Once you are aware of a fire in your barn, it is imperative to stay calm, stay alert, think rationally and act decisively.

 The first course of action is to call 911.

Have someone call your vet.

Use fire extinguisher at base of fire. Never turn your back to a fire.

Start removing horses which are accessible, but never go inside a burning barn due to risk of collapse or smoke inhalation. Horses which are in burning stalls are most likely to die from smoke, even if rescued, so focus on the horses which you can safely remove.

Never attempt to recover tack or equipment. It isn’t worth your life.

 Be aware of your surroundings and conditions: changes in wind direction or speed, a change in air temperature, humidity, increase in smoke and ash are all signs to leave the barn immediately. You will have roughly 1 minute to save a horse with no health risks. After one minute, the lungs become seared and suffocation begins. At the 3 minute mark, they will most likely be dead. Therefore, it is imperative to practice your drills, so that horses can be quickly haltered and led away from a burning barn. Horses will be more likely to be frightened by sirens and panicked humans than from the smoke itself. Blindfolding should never be considered: It only works in the movies! Blindfolds are a fallacy. They take longer to get on the horse and horses can become very dangerous and unpredictable as a result.

Instead, teach your horses to leave and to lead well. All personnel in your barn should have advanced handling skills.

Once you have removed horses, remove any blankets, fly masks, boots, etc and hose them off entirely. If there is anything which has melted onto the horse, wait for your vet to remove it. Cinders will continue to burn under their hair, so it is imperative to thoroughly hose off the horse and inspect their coat. Even if your horses appear to be uninjured, a vet needs to do a thorough exam and that includes checking for smoke inhalation. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are by-products of fire, which cause asphyxiation. It is not uncommon for horses to crash days after a fire, due to pneumonia, therefore, it is important for your vet to treat rescued horses aggressively.

Once the fire department arrives, they will turn off the power source, so it is a good idea to have flashlights available. Large facilities should have a diagram of their property with marked animal confinement areas and location of water, gas and power sources. Provide a copy with your local fire department and post a copy in all buildings.

If arson is suspected, which occurs in roughly 15% of barn fires, usually as a result of anger or profit driven, an investigative unit is involved and usually the State Fire Marshal is also called upon. Insurance companies will become involved within 48 hours. Once the investigation is complete, the fire department files a report.

In Conclusion

There is no predictability to the time, location, facility or climate when it comes to fires. They happen as often in cold weather as they do in hot weather. Therefore it is extremely important that all barn owners and managers implement every aspect possible to prevent the risk of a fire. Through education, better facility design or retrofitting existing barns, alert and suppression systems, planning and drills, the chance of a fire can be reduced. Human and animal lives will be saved, not to mention the impact of economic losses of structures, trailers, tack, equipment and the animals themselves.

This concludes my four-part series of Preventing Barn Fires. Next week will see the complete series in one continuous blog.

This entire series has been taken from my forthcoming book, Common Sense Horse Keeping, to be published in February 2024 by Cushing Publishing. Unlike my other blogs, which are condensed versions of what is contained in the book , this information is far too important to try and condense it.

Thanks again to Dr. Rebecca Gimenez Husted for lending her expertise. You can follow Dr. Husted on FaceBook at Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescues.