There are plenty of fire hazards on just about every farm, ranch or dairy operation that can threaten your animals. Often, fire safety plans on farms overlook the danger to animals, meaning a significant potential loss of life and value. Here are some great tips for fire safety that can help protect the animals on your farm.

Make a Fire Safety Plan That Includes Your Animals

Although your first concern should be the preservation of human life, many ranchers, dairy workers, farmers and people with stables are interested in protecting the animals on their property.

When constructing your fire safety plan, think about evacuation routes present in the structures housing your animals, and practice evacuating your animals in the case of fire. Have a fire extinguisher in strategic locations that you can quickly deploy to protect animals before a fire reaches them.

Try to also understand the behavior of your animals, especially if they're likely to panicky due to an approaching fire. You should know that herd animals are often calmer when they're together, so think about evacuating horses in groups instead of alone. Readily accessible transportation is also important, so try to have options available to move animals away from a fire location, such as a large trailer. You can also create emergency medical kits with the help of your local vet to treat injuries and burns before animals are transported to an animal hospital.

Finally, you'll want some designated locations here you can bring your animals after they are secured from the fire, such as a fairground or farm in your area.

Fire Suppression Systems

Often, installing a fire suppression system with the help of places like Echo Fire Protection in the buildings housing your animals is one of the most effective ways to keep them safe. These fire suppression systems may represent an upfront cost, but they can save you thousands of dollars in loss of animal life. These systems quickly detect fires and then release water, gases or dry chemical powders that can put out most fires regardless of the source of the fire.

Review The Fire Safety Of Your Buildings

Many farms, ranches and stables house their animals in much older buildings featuring design flaws that can allow a fire to spread quickly. One of the biggest problems is often electricity. Older wiring and electrical components are often not suitable for handling today's electricity needs.  If your building is older, you should have an experienced electrician review the wiring inside, and make any needed changes.

Many older farm buildings also have flaws in their actual construction, with many utilizing "balloon frame construction". This type of design leaves spaces between the studs that are used to keep the frame of the farm building together, allowing fires to easily spread. In such cases, speak with a contractor about adding fire-proofing elements to your farm building, and even adding fire stops in strategic locations to keep a fire from spreading.

Ultimately, fire safety for your animals should be a part of your overall fire safety for farms, stables, ranches and other properties where animals are located. Follow the above tips and you may be able to protect your animals from the worst aspect of a fire disaster