Barn fires are devastating to all involved says Farm & Food Care chair

There have been a lot of news stories lately about barn fires in Ontario, and many of us know someone who has gone through the horror of such an incident. Without exception, the stories have been tragic and the incidents devastating to these farm families in so many ways – with the loss of animals being at the top of that list. Often, a barn fire affects an entire community with neighbours joining together to support each other and help clean up the terrible aftermath. Economic concerns, while very real, are always secondary to the loss of farm animals that these farmers have raised and nurtured.

According to the Fire Marshal’s office of Ontario, the numbers of barn fires aren’t actually on the rise. There have just been a large number of headline-grabbing incidents all happening in close proximity to each other in recent weeks involving horses, pigs, cattle and goats. But it doesn’t really matter what type of livestock a farmer is raising. Each and every incident is devastating.

2014 is the most recent year that the Fire Marshal has published results for. That year there were 150 barn fires – 82 to equipment barns or produce buildings and 68 to barns housing livestock.

That number is down from an average of 211 barn fires annually between 2004 and 2008. Of those fires in 2014, the cause of 48 percent of them was never determined while 21 percent were attributed to electrical problems and 13.5 percent to misuses of ignition sources.

But even one fire involving livestock is one too many. And it’s frustrating to us as farmers to read the editorials in urban newspapers that suggest that farmers aren’t doing enough to prevent the tragedies.

Many of the newspaper editorials of late have called for mandatory installation of sprinkler systems. Unfortunately, those of us familiar with barn structures know that isn’t a workable solution in many cases.  With our reliance on farm wells (and pumps that require electricity), our water supplies wouldn’t operate when power was cut. And that’s even if the pipes feeding the systems didn’t freeze in unheated structures.

In addition, authors of recent articles don’t understand how far our barns are from fire stations and water sources.  One farmer/firefighter we spoke to recently said that even if they arrive on the scene with trucks carrying “thousands of gallons of water”, that may only last a few minutes. As such, a barn can be completely engulfed in less than six minutes – often before the fire department arrives.

At Farm & Food Care Ontario, we’ve been working on this issue for more than a decade and there are more projects in the works. We’ve done training for hundreds of first responders across the province, recognizing that many first responders are not familiar with barn design or animal handling. It can’t be assumed that a volunteer fire department will have even one farmer as one of its members, making the scene even more dangerous and challenging than a typical structure fire.
So how can you prevent the next headline from being about your farm? There are many steps you can take.

• First, review your farm’s fire prevention plan. Having a plan already in place will help you efficiently and effectively assess the situation if and when you’re ever placed in such a position.  Hold annual meetings with family members and staff to go over your fire plans – they may have identified risks that you haven’t noticed. Regular meetings help to ensure everyone’s aware of a fire plan and a strategy of what you’d do in the case of a fire.  
• Get to know your volunteer fire department or the fire prevention officer. Many rural fire departments organize barn fire education programs for their team so that they better understand how barns in their coverage area are built and the types of livestock found within. These programs also offer the opportunity for farmers in their region to highlight potential risks. If you’re comfortable doing so, invite your local department for a tour so that they can get to know you and your operation. If not, plan a visit at their fire hall and provide maps of your facilities.

• Talk to your insurance company about having them do inspections using thermal cameras or buy or borrow a camera to do checks on your own. These cameras can help identify faults before they cause a fire.

• Talk to your electrician about the state of your electrical system to ensure it meets current standards.

Farm & Food Care Ontario houses a library of resources on its website that livestock farmers and first responders should be aware of. It includes fact sheets on barn fires involving livestock as well as a five-part video series developed specifically for first responders. The videos cover topics such as managing loose livestock, responding to emergencies, scene security and more.

The website also contains great resources for producers on dealing with the aftermath of a livestock barn fire. It highlights options for animal relocation, marketing unaffected animals, considerations relating to gestating or birthing farm animals, euthanasia, deadstock disposal options and more.

Through coordinated efforts and awareness we can continue to reduce the risk of barn fires impacting Ontario farms and farmers.

Sincerely,
John Maaskant, chicken farmer, Chair of Farm & Food Care Ontario
Clinton, Ontario