Barn fire prevention studied
A regional working group is hoping a new awareness campaign will help reduce the number of farm and barn fires in the region that over the last few years have caused millions of dollars in damage and livestock losses.
“Barn fires are a tragic loss, not only to the farm that has them, but the large loss of livestock is obviously a shame, and they impact the entire farming community,” said Bruce Kelly, project manager with the Barn Fire Risk Reduction advisory panel — a group of farm and fire organizations that aims to reduce the number of barn fires in the region.
The group was formed in response to the large number of barn fires across the province, including Southwestern Ontario, one of the nation’s richest farm belts. “Middlesex, Perth and Huron counties have had more than their fair share of fires because they have more than their fair share of livestock facilities,” Kelly said. According to the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office, losses from barn fires in Ontario average more than $25 million a year.
In Middlesex County alone, there were 12 farm-related fires causing more than $4.7 million in losses in 2017.
And as farms grow larger in size, the material losses due to fires are also expected to increase over the next years.
That’s why preventing fires from happening in the first place is critical, Kelly said.
After years of work, the group has been able to identify the most common causes of barn fires and it has come up with a number of recommendations it believes can make a difference, he said. “Because these fires are so big, the exact cause of these fires half the time isn’t known because the facilities really burn down entirely,” Kelly said.
“But now we think we have learned a few things … and we want to share our findings.”
Kelly said that in most of the barn fires they were able to investigate, the cause can be traced to some sort of deterioration of the electrical system, including corrosion of receptacles and plugs on equipment such as heat lamps and wall fans.
That’s why, along with some best practices farmers should follow, some of the recommendations include new electrical equipment the group believes can help reduce the risks.
Given the types of structures and material found in barns, these types of fires can be so difficult to control that risk reduction is key, said John Elston, fire prevention officer with Middlesex County. “Unfortunately, when fire crews are dispatched to barn fires, it’s very rare the times when there are many saves (of livestock) because of the amount of combustible load and the types of structure, so public education is really becoming the first line of defence,” he said. Before the awareness campaign can be launched, however, the group is waiting to receive an answer to a funding application made to the Agricultural Adaptation Council — a federal and provincial organization that provides funding to develop initiatives to improve agricultural practices. Earlier this year, Middlesex County got behind the project, with council deciding to send a letter to support the group’s funding application.
“It’s a very unfortunate situation and these fires are really devastating to the family farm,” said Southwest Middlesex Mayor Vance Blackmore, a farmer himself. “So we want to do anything we can to educate our farmers.”
Aside from the awareness campaign, a second part of the project would also include training sessions for area firefighters on how to better respond to livestock emergencies, including barn fires and truck rollovers.
“Our industry is very concerned about this situation, so we are really trying to help our producers not only to get through the crisis but to get to the root causes and find solutions,” Kelly said.
These fires are so big, the exact cause half the time isn’t known because the facilities really burn down entirely.