When looking at horse barn designs there are plenty of points to consider. What would you like it constructed from? How many stalls do you need in it? Where on your property do you wish to construct it? Just what extra, non standard characteristics would you like to include?
However there’s one very important facet of horse barn design which a lot of people neglect…until it’s far too late.
That one, commonly ignored aspect, can be barn safety. So many people are more concerned about exactly how good the barn appears, & don’t give a second thought to precisely what may occur in the event that there’s a barn fire.
However, they are saying, in the event that there’s a barn fire I’ll simply run down towards the barn and let all the horses out, or perhaps the fire fighters may go in along with get the horses out whenever they turn up. That almost all seems nice theoretically, but do you realize:
- It will take five to seven minutes minimum (longer within rural areas) for the fire brigade to reach you.
- It’ll usually take you around 3 minutes to realise the barn’s burning (by which stage it will have already been burning for several minutes), get dressed, ring emergency services & get out of the house.
- The roof of the barn will most likely fall inside ten to fifteen minutes.
- In most barn fires, the barn may be completely engulfed within flames in under 15 minutes.
So once the fire fighters show up, the roof of the barn will already be on the point of collapse so there’s simply no way they’ll be letting anyone inside to get your horses out. It doesn’t matter exactly what the roof of your barn is constructed of – timber or perhaps metal – it will nevertheless collapse within exactly the same amount of time.
The end result?
Most horses will probably be dead – hopefully absolutely no human deaths.
So whenever considering horse barn designs, precisely what features should you include to reduce the risk of fire, as well as improve the outcome in the event that a fire does occur?
1. Exterior doors to each stable, leading to a ‘safe area’ from the barn. That way, people may let the horses out in relative safety without the danger of the roof collapsing on them.
2. Sufficient roof ventilation. It’s not so much the fire burning the roof structure that results in fast barn roof collapse, but the heat from the fire beneath. A highly ventilated roof area will assist to keep your roof area much cooler in the event of a fire, which means the roof won’t collapse so quickly.
3. Almost all electrical wires in conduit. Almost all electrical wires inside the barn have to be run through conduit pipe to reduce the risk of them creating a fire.
Hopefully this gives you a couple of factors to keep in mind when looking at horse barn plans and designs for your property. Don’t wait until your barn’s burnt to the ground to think about it, do something now before it’s far too late!
