IN-DEPTH: EMERGENCY CARE AT EQUINE EVENTS A Review of Strategies to Prevent and Respond to Barn Fires Affecting the Horse Industry Rebecca M. Gimenez, PhD; Jennifer A. Woods, BSc; Roberta M. Dwyer, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVPM; and Tomas Gimenez, MVZ, Dr.Med.Vet Barn fires detrimentally affect equine recreational enthusiasts, horse owners, and practitioners regardless of geographic location or economic conditions. As the number one local emergency expected to affect agricultural facilities, fires kill more horses than any other type of disaster. Strat- egies and equipment to mitigate their effects are available but underutilized; the effectiveness of detection, alert, suppression, and immediate response systems is further emphasized by appropriate design, management, planning, and emergency drills. Authors’ addresses: Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue, Inc., 2472 Six and Twenty Road, Pendleton, SC 29670 (Gimenez R); Reflected J Livestock Consulting, RR #1, Blackie, Alberta T0L 0J0, Canada (Woods); Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546 (Dwyer); and Department of Animal Veterinary Science, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 (Gimenez T); e-mail:
[email protected]. © 2008 AAEP. 1. Introduction reduce the long-term risk to life, property, and pur- Fire can affect horse owners and their animals in pose from a particular hazard (e.g., fires). Together several ways. Barn fires are unfortunately too with preventative actions to decrease the severity of common, and each year, hundreds of valuable horses an event and immediate suppression techniques, a die or are severely injured in these incidents (Fig. 1). well-planned facility and/or property strategy can sig- nificantly reduce potential losses in both equine life Wildfires consume thousands of acres annually in and property.