On the outside of the horse barn, high up near the heels of the gable end is a red siren and strobe light box that is hooked up to sensors in the shedrow. Surprisingly, during a recent system test, not one of the horses even cocked an ear to the sirens. Inside the barn there are fire extinguishers at each of the four doors. No electrical appliances are allowed to remain plugged in if unattended. In the laundry room, dryers are placed on timers so they can’t be left on, ventilation fans placed in the aisles must be commercially rated and no ‘permanent’ extension cords are allowed. These are just a few of the fire prevention strategies that have been implemented at Classy Lane Stables in Puslinch, Ontario, where 43 Standardbred racehorses lost their lives in a barn fire that grabbed world-wide attention last year.
On January 4, 2016, Jamie and Barb Millier got the call that one of their six training barns and all of its horses had been lost to the fire. While the official cause has still not been released, the barn owners have already re-built, becoming advocates of fire safety so that no one else has to go through such an ordeal. “We’ve been fire conscious from the start,” said Jamie, “but we’ve learned.”
Everything they do at the farm now has an undercurrent of adaptability for fire prevention. “We feel pretty confident that we’re doing all we can,” he said. For example, they recently purchased a 5,000-gallon water tanker to water the race training track, and have ordered a two-inch hose to be attached and mounted on the side, ready to use to douse a fire.