We have had the battery powered smoke detectors in the barn before but they would regularly go off during the summer heat so now we have no smoke detectors and only fire extinguishers. Do others have smoke detectors in the barn? Are they hard-wired? Suggestions for fire protection in an existing barn. Would have been nice to have sprinklers but I don’t think we can afford to retrofit. House is attached to barn and has smoke detectors but I feel like we need more for the barn. Open to suggestions. Thanks
There are optical fire detectors that are made for “dirty” applications: barns and garages and the like. They are, however, significantly more expensive than the ones you use in residential areas, and usually need to be installed professionally.
But quite likely worth it, if it means saving your horses.
If you are at all worried, contact your local fire department.
it is part of their job to educate people about possible fire hazards in their homes and barns! So much nicer for them to not having to come out and put a fire out or pull remains from the wreckage!
And since you said the barn is connected to the house, I think the effort will be well worth it, as well as the expenses for the ‘special’ detectors.
My fire department was clueless when we first moved in. Completely clueless. Didn’t even recommend not storing hay in the barn.
We had to find an alarm specialist.
There are a variety of alternatives. Contacting your local fire dept. is a good idea. Or you can call a vendor of fire/safety equipment. Or if you want a centrally monitored system (that will likely save you some money on your fire ins.) you can call somebody like ADT and let them come out and give you an estimate on a system and monitor service.
Dust can be a major problem in a barn and dust can easily simulate particulate matter from combustion. Get somebody who knows what they are doing.
G.
If you’re looking for monitoring systems, I echo those who said contact a company. However, I don’t have a monitoring system in my barn. It wouldn’t do me any good if I & DH are at work when a fire started, unless we can miraculously get a hold of a neighbor and that neighbor can get over there in time.
Instead, we sunk a lot of money into redoing the wiring in our barn. All outlets are GCFI, then those outlets are hooked up to a circuit breaker in the barn, and then the barn wire to the house is hooked into the main circuit breaker in the house. So we have essentially 3 breakers for each outlet.
All outlets have weatherproof in-use covers because we often leave fans plugged in from May-October. And all of our switches are similarly covered as well to prevent dust/humidity from getting in and shorting things out. The main wire(s) going from the main breaker in the house to the barn was updated to the most appropriate heavy-duty wire (it was severely under-wired and not able to handle the load).
All fans are rated for outdoor use and use with sprinkler systems. Not that we have a sprinkler system, but just in case sideways rain from a powerful thunderstorm coats them with some mist.
Lastly we follow the usual. No long-term hay storage in the barn. Visible extinguishers. Halters hung outside of each stall plus a set by the entrance. No unnecessary storage of things that may get in the way; the feed/tack room is cleared out about quarterly. And cobwebs/dust is cleaned out annually or bi-annually, depending on the weather around here.
I live above my main barn. My farrier is also a volunteer fireman. He says I have one of the safest barns he goes to. Two layers of drywall, which is code here, on the ceiling/floor of barn/house. He says drywall doesn’t burn well. No hay stored in the main barn, two fire extinguishers, four of the six stalls also have dutch doors, cob webs removed monthly or as needed, halters and leads for each horse. Last year he suggested I put a smoke detector in the tack room so I did that. The other barn has a three sided hay storage area with four stalls attached. Two fire extinguishers there. Only one door per stall though, halters and leads right there. Lightening protection on every building.
No. Virginia is not a fire prone area.
Another thing you can consider is a good baby monitor. Let the horses tell you if there is trouble at the barn.
Thank you all. I’ll look into the optical fire detectors and I planned to have the local volunteer fire Dept come and take a look but I wonder about their knowledge. We do store hay and straw in our hay loft over the stalls.
[QUOTE=ToTheNines;7753905]
Another thing you can consider is a good baby monitor. Let the horses tell you if there is trouble at the barn.[/QUOTE]
We can hear the horses in the barn as we have several windows from the house into the barn. They are definitely the best alarm for things out of the ordinary like a loose horse.
even a broken clock is righ twice a day:
http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/Horse-Barn-Fire-Publication.pdf
Not sure how good this is:
http://www.pennsylvaniaequestrian.com/news/barn-fire-safety.php
[QUOTE=Alagirl;7754138]
even a broken clock is righ twice a day:
http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/Horse-Barn-Fire-Publication.pdf
Not sure how good this is:
http://www.pennsylvaniaequestrian.com/news/barn-fire-safety.php[/QUOTE]
Thanks
If you are insured with Farm Bureau they will do a farm check for things like this, and unless things have changed if you install certain measures you get a discount on premiums. I’m not sure they still do this but I think they do, as so many of their insured own production farms.
My insurance discount for my alarm system, which includes fire, gives me a 10% discount on insurance.
You may want to ask your insurance company about this and who they recommend you contact to find more.
You say your house and barn are connected?
You may want to be sure they understand that when you talk to them.
I know that, when I wanted to build a house/barn combination, the insurance had fits about it and may not have insured it.
I ended up building a house, the barn 140’ from the house, a bit over the minimum, 100’ distance away the fire department recommended.
If you have a living space attached to a barn, I think you would want to make sure that you have an adequate firewall between the two spaces. Codes vary from location to location, but I think that is an important thing. I’m not sure that drywall would be considered an adequate firewall. Many barn fires are caused by electrical devices such as fans and space heaters. Make sure electrical devices are in good condition and consider using sealed motor fans for barn use. Do not leave devices on when you aren’t around or at night. As far as monitoring, regular smoke detectors obviously aren’t going to cut it. You need something that isn’t going to be set off by dust and spiders. I would follow the advice of others who suggest using a professional company that specializes in this type of thing.
I had many questions a few years ago - you might want to review this thread: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?337165-Barn-Fire-Detection-Systems
LittleBlackMorgan had great answers - in the end we went with a temperature change detection system with sensors mounted on both levels of our bank barn. It has given me tremendous piece of mind. And, I had also implemented many prevention strategies such as routine cobweb cleaning, fire extinguisher review, etc.
