Encouraging Fire Safety for Barn Owners

Jan 25, 2016

From OMAFRA

Barn fires can cause a devastating loss of livestock and assets for owners in addition to emotional and economic hardships for families, businesses and communities.

There are best practices to follow to reduce the risk of barn fires:

Have a qualified professional complete assessments of all farm buildings
Have all electrical equipment inspected yearly by a licensed electrical contractor, including wiring, mechanical and heating systems
When heat lamps are required, protect the immediate area with non-combustible sheathing, keep the area around the heat lamp clear of clutter or bedding materials that could catch fire and only use heat lamps with the CSA or ULC label
Establish good housekeeping practices - eliminate clutter inside and outside the buildings to the risk of fire spreading
Be sure to check exposed electrical equipment for corroded parts and repair all damaged fixtures or equipment as soon as possible
Avoid storing dangerous fuels and chemicals such as gasoline, cleaning fluids or solvents inside barns
Ensure that all applicable regulations are followed when constructing or renovating farm buildings
Make sure all equipment and motors are in good working condition, and free from dust and debris
Always keep a fire extinguisher on hand
Make sure a reliable source of water is available and easily accessible by fire departments.

Owners of farm buildings are encouraged to follow these best management practices when working with livestock in farm buildings. Planning ahead to reduce risks and prevent accidents will help protect employees, family members and animals.

Video: Cleaning Sheep Barns & Setting Up Chutes

Indoor sheep farming in winter at pre-lambing time requires that, at Ewetopia Farms, we need to clean out the barns and manure in order to keep the sheep pens clean, dry and fresh for the pregnant ewes to stay healthy while indoors in confinement. In today’s vlog, we put fresh bedding into all of the barns and we remove manure from the first groups of ewes due to lamb so that they are all ready for lambs being born in the next few days. Also, in preparation for lambing, we moved one of the sorting chutes to the Coveralls with the replacement ewe lambs. This allows us to do sorting and vaccines more easily with them while the barnyard is snow covered and hard to move sheep safely around in. Additionally, it frees up space for the second groups of pregnant ewes where the chute was initially.