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  Discussion on Barn Fires - Being Prepared
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Member:
Skeller

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 9:31 am:

A tragedy happened yesterday in our community. A barn which housed 32 horses burnt. They managed to save 1/2 of them, however at least 12 are dead. My horses were not affected as I'm in another barn, however we know some of the families that lost their companions. Cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Rumors are that it was either electrical or a gas explosion (explosions were heard but were they before or after the fire started?). However the barn had a hay loft which caused the fire to spread quickly. It was down in 20 minutes.

Unfortunately it takes a tragedy at times to get you started planning. I'd really like to get something started for the barn I board at. Does anyone have any ideas?

What are your feelings about keeping leather halters on the horses in the stalls? Is there more danger of the halter getting caught than there is of a barn fire? Quite a few years ago one large Saddlebred training barn credited saving all their horses because they kept the halters on them and were able to get them out much quicker.

Any ideas on how to console the owners? People in the community, vets, responded very quickly by providing care, transportation, stalls and feed for the rescued horses.
Member:
Sunny66

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 1:50 pm:

I'm so very sorry to hear this, I can't imagine what everyone's going through. I don't have any ideas, but I too am curious about what others think.

I've just built my first barn and have four horses and I want to do the right thing. I do have a fire extinguisher, clean towels and water hoses at the ready for blindfolding, if need be, there are two paddocks away from the barn in case I need to move them.

I too am curious about halters in the stalls...I hesitate since all the horses are trusting and respectable, however, any horse can turn into a wild thing when afraid.

Comments and/or suggestions are welcomed!!

Member:
Swarnick

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 5:41 pm:

I saw a clever idea for a quickly converting a regular halter to a break away halter many years ago. It was in Western Horseman magazine, I think.

You take a strip of leather rein not wider than 3/4 " that is a bit longer length than the headstall. Using one of those hardware pieces, that when looking at it from the side is a semi circle with a little post coming up from the center bottom, to connect it to the halter under the existing headstall. I don't know the technical term for that piece of hardware, but you see them connecting a snap on martingales and some bridles. I’m sure a leather dog leash with a snap would be much easier. Anyway, you connect the rein/leash (must be leather) to the base of the ring where the headstall's sewn end, throat latch and cheek pieces meet, so that the strap will ride underneath the existing headstall.

Punch holes at the other end of the rein/leash so that it adjusts and with holes that are large enough to accommodate the tongue of the buckle.

After buckling up the break away, you can then put the original headstall over it and thread the end through upper part of the buckle without actually buckling it through a hole. Tuck the end of it into the ring of the cheek piece if the head stall is long enough.

The rein/leash will break loose if a horse catches it on anything, as the holes in the leather will rip free upon any hard force. Of course, you would never tie a horse or lead a panicky one without buckling the headstall using the tongue. At least it's right there ready to go and you now have a safe halter you can leave on your horse indefinately.

If a horse has sensitive skin I would pad the halter with fleece if it's going to be worn alot to prevent hair loss. Even if it were only used it at night it may well save a horse's life it were necessary to get him/her out of a structure in an emergency.

Shirley
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 6:19 pm:

My prayers go out to all those who have suffered losses or injury.

Two important considerations on my list are:
1) Do not store combustibles in the barn.
2) Electrical wires run in metal conduit.
DrO
Member:
Swarnick

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 9:20 pm:

SK and Aileen,

My heart goes out to those who lose an animal in any way, but by fire I think would be the most devasting loss of all. I thank you for introducing the topic of preparedness as I know I get a little little lax sometimes. I don't think anyone relishes having to think about the possibilities. Although I did drive my poor husband nuts with the barn plan having to have multiple choices of egress,if there is time to get them out, we'll have 5 possible exits and a total of 7 by end of summer. My barn is definately getting a safety check-up thanks to your reminder; wiring, fire inspection, dusting the cobwebs etc. asap.

I located a couple of web sites; one that includes a Barn safety check list to post. The Red Cross site covers additional emergency information for quakes, floods, etc.
https://www.horsecouncilbcsite.com/brochures/Barn%20Safety%20Checklist.doc
and
www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/barnyard.html

I think the best thing one could do is really do a thorough safety check of the facility and try to be prepared for as much as possible. Since we do fire drills for home, work and in our schools, why should our barns be any different?

Shirley




Member:
Mwebster

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 9:50 pm:

I've always heard that horses can be difficult to evacuate from a burning barn, but is that true even if their stalls all have doors directly out to the pasture, and you get there in time to open all those outside doors? Would a horse actually choose to stay in the barn rather than run right out that stall door to the grass?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2003 - 7:29 am:

Excellent links Shirley. I have placed the checklist in the article on barn design (with appropriate acknowledgment).
DrO
Member:
Canter

Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2003 - 8:32 am:

I remember reading in one of my magazines that a big name trainer (don't remember who) had recommended rotating horses from stall to stall every couple of weeks or so. The thought process was that if a horse didn't live in the same stall for an extended period of time, it would be less "stall-bound" during a fire and easier to lead out.

Fortunately, I have never needed to test that theory, but I remember it from my reading.
Member:
Sunny66

Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2003 - 1:25 pm:

Wow Shirley...GREAT info!! Thanks!!!

As far as keeping a halter on the horses go... a friend of mine suggested that keeping the halters at the ready only and if a fire threatens, then put them on the horses...always having extra halters and leads readily available.

Any thoughts??

Melissa, I have heard that horses will return to the "safety" of their barn...fire or not...They believe it is safe so they will return.

Good point Fran...I'll try it (;)

SK, thanks so very much for starting this thread...could definately be a lifesaver for many!!

Member:
Sparky

Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2003 - 2:44 pm:

Horses and cows will return into a burning barn - as caught on tape by the Abbotsford Fire Department. If possible close the outside door once the evacuation is complete to prevent them from returning to their safety zone. Try to have a preplanned area to take them to so as not to just turn them loose. Preplanning saves lives! Once removed to whatever area - throw them some food if possible to give them something to do. Janet Schmidt
Member:
Mwebster

Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2003 - 9:20 pm:

On the "returning to a burning barn" topic, our barn is surrounded by pasture, and the pasture of course has a fence around it. It's about 2 acres. So, would a horse that's released from a burning barn into a pasture that it likes to graze in return to the barn? (Our horses are pretty keen to get OUT of their stalls and into that pasture.) Were the horses that were filmed returning to their barn stabled a large part of every day? What was their alternative (maybe they weren't familiar/comfortable with the area outside the barn where they were released?) Would horses stabled less than 12 hours each day be less attached to the barn? Our horses don't seem to like the smell of smoke very much...
Member:
Skeller

Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2003 - 10:27 pm:

Those are great links Shirley, and thanks for the break away halter idea.

And thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers for those that were affected.

On returning to a burning barn. It happened. One horse did break loose and ran back in the barn. However they were really lucky. They found him on the other side. They did manage to get all the stall doors open so that they had a chance to escape. I heard that the horses not wanting to leave their stalls was a big problem.

We had another barn fire in this area about 20 years ago. The manager managed to get one horse out, a breeding stallion. He broke loose and ran back in and was lost.

I think you are right Melissa, horses that are mainly kept in the stall are probably going to have more of a homing instinct.

Halters. I'm very picky about having the halter outside the stall where I board. My concern is how do you get one on a frightened animal? I guess there's alway the loop it around the neck option. Just about anything to get them out of the stall.

A drill is a good idea Shirley. I think confusion would be the worst enemy. Even if you've only walked through it in your mind, what would I do, you'd have saved valuable seconds.
Member:
Sparky

Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 5:47 pm:

Melissa - it was a couple of cows that were filmed returning into the fire and I am not sure of their circumstances. A fire scene is not usually a quiet calm area - one of the main things to remember is to clearly delegate tasks to those at hand and not try and do everything yourself. SK - your local victem services may be able to provide links to helping to comfort the owners.
Member:
Cilebank

Posted on Sunday, Jul 13, 2003 - 1:52 am:

DrO

Are all the wires in your barn in metal conduit? I am building a barn with living quarters, office, etc and the wires are mostly in the walls. Do you believe all wires should be in conduit or just exposed wires?

thanks

Cile
Member:
Swarnick

Posted on Monday, Jul 14, 2003 - 7:27 pm:

SK,

I just wanted to thank you again for raising my awarness on barn safety. Because of this thread, I really took stock and it wasn't a bit too soon.

This weekend while my husband was digging a post hole to expand the paddocks, he sliced our natural gas line in half! The horses were in the barn at the time and the gas was rapidly filling their stalls. With two old cats, my terrier, Basset hound, two minis and cell phone in hand(s) I was able to get them all out into fresh air and to a safe distance in an instant. Because I had thought it through last week, as a result of your post, I didnt' panic because there was a plan in place. Had this happened before, I would have had everything scattered to heck and back like ususal and who knows what the outcome might have been. The fire department evacuated our neighbors 2 houses in each direction while the repairs were underway and thank goodness, I got them out before they arrived as they wouldn't allow me back into the barn until the repairs were finished. They could have been overcome with gas and asphixiated. I shudder to think...

As a sidebar, which I was amazed to learn, that in newer construction, gas lines are plastic and easily cut. Depending on the installation, they also don't tend to be very deep either. Ours was less than a foot underground.

We learned a valuable and quite costly lesson. When you see the commercial that the utility company does that says "call before you dig", please do! It's ususally a free service and they take the heat if you hit anything after a "locate." But all I care about is that my babies are all safe and sound.

Shirley
Member:
Skeller

Posted on Monday, Jul 14, 2003 - 10:00 pm:

Oh my gosh Shirley, I'm sure you're having nightmares (and daymares too). Gas leaks are super scary. I'm so glad everyone is ok. I know the rule about call before you dig, but would have never thought about cutting through a line when digging a post hole. But I guess it doesn't matter how big the hole is, if it's in the wrong place! We have a lot of natural gas in our area so I'll be super careful. It's really really nice to know that something good came out of the tragedy.
Sandi
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 15, 2003 - 5:52 pm:

Thanks for the kudos Shirley. Cile, in our older barn all of the long runs of exposed wire are in metal conduit. My chief concern is rodents gnawing on the wires. If your walls are solid and rodents not a problem I would not be concerned. Our newer barn with enclosed walls do not have conduit.
DrO
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