Can we talk about barn fire safety?

[King_s_Ransom]

Now that my boys are staying in some nights due to winter weather, I am going through my annual paranoia about a barn fire. I believe I have crossed all my Ts and dotted all my Is when it comes to electrical (all installed and upgraded by a licensed electrician), hay storage (separate from barn) and cleanliness (like decobwebbing, etc.) BUT I still worry. I do not have exterior doors on each stall for direct access and that is definitely something I want to have done when the budget allows. However, by the time I would know my barn is on fire on some blustery wintery night, I’m afraid my boys would already be lost.

So – what about smoke alarms that are installed in the barn and alert in the house? Is that a thing?

Or what about a sprinkler system? In an unheated barn – I’m guessing that’s impossible?

What do others do to sleep better when the horses are in the barn overnight?

[ToTheNines]

I researched all kinds of smoke alarms and cameras, and then decided on a nice reliable baby monitor. I am used to sleeping with the sound of snorting and munching, and I figure if something is wrong they will let me know. I sure hope so.

That was a while ago though, and now that you bring the subject up, maybe I would be interested in a smoke detector that had a remote speaker in the house.

[gumtree]

The government keeps and publishes yearly statistics on structure fires. Barns and or horse barn fires are such an insignificant number that it is not even listed in its own category. They are included with all agricultural buildings. Yes, we all hear about a tragic horse barn fires, from time to time. Just had one in our area. But considering there are 1000’s and 1000’s of horse barns around the country the probability of one happening to the average barn owner is slim to none. Barn fire insurance is very cheap in my neck of the woods. Insurance companies use actuaries and charge according to the risk. We store as much as 100 tons of hay in our loft. My insurance agent has no problem with it and was told it has little to no bearing on our rate in my neck of the woods. Contrary to popular belief hay fires are even rarer then barn fires. The number one cause of agricultural building fires, heating source.

Unless you feel extremely unlucky I wouldn’t worry. If you have a phone line in the barn and or can run one to it. Any number of home security monitoring companies offer smoke detectors that when activated notify them and they will call you and the fire department.

[Hilary]

What do you feel might catch fire in the barn more than your house? Which I presume has more things that can cause fires than your barn?

It sounds like you’ve done your homework (and btw, cobwebs don’t cause fires, and they also don’t actually burn very well) and unless your horses are sparking up after you’ve left them for the night it’s unlikely that something will cause a fire in the barn.

General safety though:

Unplug things, don’t use heat lamps - I use the heated buckets but they were designed for use in barns and make sure the cords are new and safe.

Make sure there is a fire extinguisher in an easily accessed location, halters and leads easily reached and make sure your doors open easily, and probably most importantly, that you can find everything in the dark. In case of a fire you don’t want to be trying to find the doors/halters etc.

[SCM1959]

King’s Ransom - I have a friend who teaches Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue, and with all of the recent barn fires, there has been a lot of discussion on the TLAER Facebook Page. Here is a link to an article about Barn Fire Safety from The Horse online:

http://cs.thehorse.com/blogs/horse-911-whats-your-emergency/archive/2013/02/05/fire-safety-checklist.aspx

Many of the suggestions may be impractical for you, but there are still a lot of other things on the checklist that you can do right away. For example, call your local Fire Department and have them come out and look at your barn to give you information about how to help them help you in case of a fire. If you have a locked gate, discuss how they will get in, etc.

Here’s hoping you can win the lottery and get enough money to put outside doors on all of your stalls!

Happy New Year to everyone.

SCM1959

[Simkie]

I bookmarked this forever ago. Had actually forgotten I had it! But it looks to be an excellent resource:

http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ub034.pdf

[cowboymom]

Smoke detector plus a baby monitor?

[bathsheba8542]

I have a heat sensor system…it cost about $2.5k, but is worth it for peace of mind for me.

Also, when I’m feeling nervous, I can throw the breaker at the house so there is no power to the barn. Which, of course, shuts off the main power for the heat sensor system, but it is battery powered for the night.

I also remove cobwebs on a very regular basis, make sure there are no electric outlets that are dusty or web-filled, and whenever anything is plugged in it is in a GFI outlet.

Hope these thoughts give you some ideas…

[King_s_Ransom]

You can say as often as you like that a barn fire is unlikely. But when I play the odds, I do not look at my likelihood of winning. Rather, I look at the cost of losing. Should I lose my friends in a barn fire, well … I do not know how I could go on. So, yes, when the things you value most in life are at risk, you may take extraordinary measures that are not necessarily warranted by the odds.

Why do I worry more about the barn catching fire than my house? Well, I have smoke detectors in my house and I am free to evacuate through the nearest exit in the event of disaster. Not only do I not have smoke detectors in my barn, but my horses are locked inside and not free to save themselves in the event of disaster – that is why I worry more about them than about myself.

Does anyone have any information or experience with an early detection / early warning system that could possibly buy a horse owner some time in the unlikely event of a barn fire? Enough time to potentially mount a rescue effort?

[King_s_Ransom]

Thanks Simkie! That is an EXCELLENT reference!

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;7941610]
Now that my boys are staying in some nights due to winter weather, I am going through my annual paranoia about a barn fire. I believe I have crossed all my Ts and dotted all my Is when it comes to electrical (all installed and upgraded by a licensed electrician), hay storage (separate from barn) and cleanliness (like decobwebbing, etc.) BUT I still worry. I do not have exterior doors on each stall for direct access and that is definitely something I want to have done when the budget allows. However, by the time I would know my barn is on fire on some blustery wintery night, I’m afraid my boys would already be lost.

As noted barn fires are rare but when they happen are generally spectacular.

So – what about smoke alarms that are installed in the barn and alert in the house? Is that a thing?

I have a monitored alarm system in the barn with ADT. I think it’s $90/quarter. Includes a burglar alarm for the tack room. It uses a cell phone notice system. There is a siren that goes off and the fire department is notified. IIRC the sensors are heat not smoke detectors. Barns are very dusty and dust has two bad habits: it can “fog” sensors and it can mimic smoke causing a false alarm. That later item annoys firefighters.

Or what about a sprinkler system? In an unheated barn – I’m guessing that’s impossible?

“Dry” systems are available but very pricey. I used to know a guy who was a genuine expert (worked as a professional arson investigator). He was not supportive of the idea of a “dry” system for most consumer uses. He noted that not only are they expensive to buy they are costly to maintain. His take was that a monitored system and a good insurance policy was much more cost effective.

What do others do to sleep better when the horses are in the barn overnight?[/QUOTE]

I sleep in the house.

All joking aside a barn fire is just not something that keeps me awake at night. I keep the electrical system in good shape, regularly inspect anything with power to it, and keep my ADT bill paid. I don’t store hay or any flammables in the barn. I keep two barn cats to keep rodents under control (and reduce the risk of mice chewing into wires). There’s not much else I can do. So I don’t obsess of what I can’t control, anyway.

G.

[2horseygirls]

I also work very closely with Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue (TLAER), and live near Valley View Acres in Illinois, where 32 horses perished in a barn fire on Saturday, November 23, 2014.

I have to disagree - barn fires are horrifically common. From Michigan to Illinois to Kansas (just overnight) to Georgia to California, over 200 horses have died in barn fires in the last 90 days (since October 2014).

Please come over to the TLAER Facebook page and just scroll through some of the recent stories: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tlaer/

Other owners are encouraged to take a proactive approach with their own properties, no matter how large or small. There are recommended best practices for animal housing in NFPA 150 (http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/document-information-pages?mode=code&code=150).

Most importantly, have your local fire inspector come out, inspect your barn, and make safety recommendations, the first of which should be to install a sprinkler system. There are many different sprinkler systems out there including what is known as a pre-action dry system that is commonly used in cold climates because it does not require the building to be heated since the sprinkler pipes are kept dry until they activate. Many barns and parking garages use them with great success and no freezing issues. Sprinkler systems start at $1.50 - $2/sf.

Next, have all electrical wiring reviewed by a licensed electrician familiar with the load used/required for barns. Add fire extinguishers and an alarm system. Store machinery, flammables and hay in a separate building. Create access to stalls not only on the inside of the barn but from the outside as well.

There are still instances when, despite all efforts, an emergency will happen. Ask your local fire department to get training on large animal rescue (running at large, trailer accidents, mud and ice rescue, and barn fires), which is a recognized technical skill under NFPA 1670. There are large animal rescue awareness classes taught by the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute (Illinois is the first state in the country to make this topic available at no charge to Illinois fire departments as part of the basic firefighter curriculum), and worldwide by Dr. Rebecca Gimenez, who will be speaking in McHenry County in June 2015.

Trail Riders of DuPage (www.trod.us/ert.htm) has been teaching hands-on horse handling to first responders in Illinois since 1994.

Education, awareness and proactive action can help prevent future fires.

[King_s_Ransom]

Guilherme – if I contact ADT, what should I ask for? It sounds like your system is really close to what I am wanting.

[kch7238]

I also have a system from ADT. I have the heat sensors like Guilherme, and I have a two camera system that I can view from my computer or phone. It has given me peace of mind. Of course we have taken the usual fire prevention steps, but the ability to see into my barn at night or when I am out of town is wonderful.

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;7941839]
Guilherme – if I contact ADT, what should I ask for? It sounds like your system is really close to what I am wanting.[/QUOTE]

I think if you call the ADT sales folks they will tell you what would work best. Yeah, I know, they’re sales folk and their job is is to sell! All you really need is one panel, sensors, and the notice system. If you have a land line to the barn you can use that; otherwise it’s a cell service.

Give them a call. They are not the only game in town, I’d bet, but they have been around for a LONG time (they provided a monitored service for the factory I worked in during summers at college almost 50 years ago ).

G.

[DancingArabian]

If you have a security system in the house, they usually offer some kind of fire alarm system. Just extend it to the barn. My barn has a fire alarm system that will call the fire department if there’s fumes or if the temperature rises too quickly, and it’s an extension of the security system that covers the BO’s house.

[LoriO]

Here is the link to an article that COTH did a few years ago on fire safety/prevention. Yes that is Mr LoriO they interview for the article

http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/farm-design-part-seven-fire-prevention-plans-can-save-your-barn

[SuckerForHorses]

But considering there are 1000’s and 1000’s of horse barns around the country the probability of one happening to the average barn owner is slim to none.

Until it happens to you.

A very dear friend lost her barn and everything in it on December 27th (except the animals, thank goodness the horses were outside and they were able to save the bunny). They think it was the water tank heater that started it despite a brand new heater, plugged into brand new electrical outlet that was all done last year. Sometimes, it happens.

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=2horseygirls;7941835]

There are many different sprinkler systems out there including what is known as a pre-action dry system that is commonly used in cold climates because it does not require the building to be heated since the sprinkler pipes are kept dry until they activate. Many barns and parking garages use them with great success and no freezing issues. Sprinkler systems start at $1.50 - $2/sf.[/QUOTE]
I do not disagree with this per square foot pricing in general but I think it might give someone a incorrect estimate if you are working with a small building with an already undersized water system and no existing fire trim. You have to first take into account that it is highly unlikely the OP has a water supply sized to effectively operate a sprinkler system. Will she need a pump or is a larger water line easily accessible?

Dry systems are very common and all, but you will need a conditioned (heated) space for the water service entrance and equipment.

[cowboymom]

Don’t leave horses in barns if you’re that worried about it. Honestly, they don’t need to be in there. If you even just allow them a turnout it would give them a chance. The last barn we had didn’t even have electric and we didn’t put it in, nor did we lock any of the horses in a stall without a turnout.

I guess I see a break down between moving heaven and earth to detect and prevent fires and then still locking your horses in a barn where said fire could start.