Do You Have a Fire Extinguisher in Your Barn? Find Out Why 21 Horses at a Washington Show Barn are Glad There Were Two On Hand
“Fire!” With the exception of “colic” there’s not another word that strikes fear into the hearts of horse owners much like the declaration of a dangerous blaze. When all circumstances are considered, it’s a wonder that the news of more barn fires doesn’t completely take over the airwaves.
First, we house large and often unpredictable animals in close quarters. These animals are often surrounded by highly combustible material such as hay, chaff, bedding, and empty feed sacks. Many electrical fixtures we place in and around stalls, like overhead lights and fans, accumulate dust, dirt, and cobwebs. Yet, many horse owners don’t have a fire extinguisher on hand or even know how to properly use one.
21 horses at an Arabian show barn in Auburn, WA. are very glad their barn manager had not one but two fire extinguishers on hand over the weekend, when a fire broke out at a property on Green Valley Road early Saturday morning.
“The fire started near a tractor,” says Tim Perciful, Fire and Life Safety Educator and Public Information Officer for KCFD #44 (Mountain View Fire and Rescue/Black Diamond Fire Department). “The investigator determined it was accidental but couldn’t come up with an exact cause. We were called to the fire about 7 am Saturday morning.”
“When we got there, the barn was on fire. The stable manager had already gotten a majority of the horses out. The cost of the fire was estimated at $200,000 with $50,000 being contents and $150,000 being the structure. That estimate was given before we realized that one horse had died.”
Thankfully, of the 22 animals that were housed at this particular location only one perished in what could’ve been a much more deadly incident. But thanks to the quick thinking of the stable manager and his wife, the presence of two fire extinguishers, and some help from the local fire department, 21 animals survived the blaze.
“The stable manager was out working when his wife saw the smoke in the barn,” Perciful says. “He ran in and grabbed the fire extinguisher. He used it up, but that didn’t put out the fire. He grabbed the second fire extinguisher and used that up. Most of those fire extinguishers are small. They only last about 15-30 seconds. Most people think they last a couple of minutes, but they don’t.”
“While he was doing that, his wife was calling 911, which was great. He started letting horses out. They were panicked with the smoke being inside the stalls. He wasn’t able to get a couple of the horses out because of the flames and because it got too hot and smoky. We got there and extinguished the majority of the fire and we were able to get the two remaining horses out.”
Once the fire had been extinguished and the horses were safely out of the barn, the next task was to round up the scared animals to have them evaluated by a veterinarian.
“I was giving oxygen to one of the horses via an oxygen mask that’s in my own personal kit,” Perciful says. “Then, the vets arrived and gave fluids and medication. I was pretty concerned because there were blisters on this one horse’s nose, which meant that it got pretty hot. The worst part was my thought that the horse probably inhaled some of the hot toxic air.”
“By then a lot of the horse owners were starting to arrive because it was a Saturday, and they were coming in to ride. Then, we had to move all of the horses, because there wasn’t enough space. Luckily, the stable manager was good friends with a neighbor nearby, and they were able to swap horses out to the neighbor’s facility. The horses are still being housed there.”
In addition to the horse that receive oxygen from Perciful’s private mask, a second horse was also transported to an emergency veterinary clinic. After conducting an update with the barn manager, Perciful learned that some of the other animals have bumps, which could possibly be heat blisters.
“They were all Arabian show horses,” he says. “In the fire world, we try to protect life and property. It’s hard to explain to some people that this was a beloved animal that was lost, but I can explain the value of an animal. The horses were valued at $20,000 to $50,000 with some being upwards of $100,000. The horse that died was going to Nationals in a couple of weeks and was a young mare that was up and rising in the show world. The owner is devastated. It’s a really sad thing.”
“Unless you are the person that lost an animal, the [21 saved 1 perished] number doesn’t mean anything. I talked to the owner and told her that I didn’t want her to be upset with the stable manager, and she wasn’t. He did everything he could, and if he could’ve gotten to her horse he would’ve. She was very understanding. When you look at the numbers and see how bad it could’ve been… He saved those horses’ lives and did an incredible job.”
We couldn’t let Perciful go without asking him to share a few of the most important barn safety tips that could help your horses in a potential fire situation.
Barn Safety Tips
- Have multiple fire extinguishers– “They had fire extinguishers, which was great. I would suggest that any facility have an extinguisher. You just never know, it could save a life.”
- Know how to use a fire extinguisher properly and call 911 FIRST- “The other part is being trained to use it. The stable manager did it right. Most of the biggest fires we go to are because people have tried to put the fire out themselves, but don’t call 911 first. People can put themselves in pretty serious danger by not knowing what to do.”
- Have a phone tree- “If you have horses in a stable or own a stable, have a good phone tree that includes owners of the animals, trainers, the owner of the stables, stable hands, and everybody that works there.”
- Have easy access to trailers for evacuation- “Make sure you have easy access to trailers in case of evacuation and have a network to evacuate animals if need be.”
- Keep multiple copies and different forms of identification in separate locations- “Make sure you have photos of your horse and all veterinary information in your trailer and with your horse. That way if anybody comes up they can immediately help and have a little background on the horse.”
So do you have a fire extinguisher in your barn? If not, what are you waiting for?
