Cover Story: CATASTROPHIC BARN FIRES: Is the National Farm Building Code the culprit?

Some experts say ‘Yes’ and are calling for substantial changes to the code, including mandatory wall-to-ceiling firewalls in hog barns
by MARY BAXTER

Old habits can die hard and no one knows this better than Colleen Wiendels.

Often, before getting into bed at night, she’ll glance down the road from the home she shares with her husband Nick and three daughters near Poplar Hill, just north of London, to check for the yard light on their barn. She does this, even though it’s more than a year since the light was in operation.