Barn Fire Safety: A Firefighter's Perspective
The Inception of FireHorse Rescue Kits
Wellington, FL (October 18, 2024) - "Walking into a barn as a firefighter of more than 20 years, the fire safety risks seem both obvious and serious. From running fans to storage of combustible materials, there was no shortage of issues even in the highest end barns in Wellington; add in huge, flighty animals with questionable self-preservation skills and it would seem equestrian facilities as a whole are literal tinderboxes for disaster. As a battalion chief at a multi-city fire department in south Florida, we do regular community risk assessments. After that visit to a local equestrian facility in Wellington, it was clear there could be an additional measure of safety & preparedness brought to equestrians across the country and world.
The first goal was to give equestrians (grooms, riders, owners, etc.) easy access to functional and simple fire prevention tools. Most barns take some fire safety precautions, like strategically placed fire extinguishers, storage practices, and enclosed fans. But there are major flaws with some of these ideas and equipment. Extinguishers become inoperable or aren’t readily available, lost in the day-to-day grind of the barn, or are difficult for the average equestrian to operate. Storing hay and other materials outside the main barn structure is more safe, but less efficient. Running fans with enclosed motors can be expensive. So rather than attempt to restructure how equestrian facilities operate, we decided to bring advanced fire safety to the barn in the form of a fire rescue kit. Similar in concept to a first aid kit, these heavy-duty cases secure and protect a selection of safety items, including spray can-type extinguishers, a fire blanket, hay thermometer, and more. They are designed to be prominently hung in barn aisle breezeways, tack rooms, or other high traffic areas to ensure that everyone knows exactly where to go in the event of an emergency. Cut foam protects the equipment from dust, water, sun, and rust, so everything is in exceptional condition at all times.
While roughly half of the items in each kit are designed to extinguish a newly started fire, the rest are intended to remove and secure horses, people, or other animals from the barn and keep them safe.
Realistically, if a fire isn’t contained within minutes if not seconds of its start in a barn, it is more than likely that all of the animals in the structure will be immediately at risk, even once first responders arrive. Rescuing animals can be difficult for even the most prepared fire department. Horses are especially complicated to rescue due to their size, inclination to run back into burning structures seeking safety, and natural fear of new people/situations.
Strangers in full bunker gear are highly unlikely to be able to coax a horse out of a stall while smoke, flames, and embers surround them. Other barns who have experienced fires report horses who are able to be evacuated promptly running back into the perceived comfort of their stalls and being lost as a result. Especially in Wellington, where long-term turnout is not always an option, this risk is very real as horses are not acclimated to being outside.
Our answer to these issues is to ensure that barn owners, grooms, and first responders have a plan to remove horses in the event a fire poses them a direct threat. We patented an equine blindfold designed to reduce the horse’s vision and panic, and increase the chance of rescue. It wears like a fly mask and is made of either buttery soft rashguard material or flame retardant material, and restricts the horse’s vision up to 80%. This reduces their fear, limits their immediate response to flee, and prevents them from returning to their stalls. Combined with other rescue tools like a tie line, glass breaker, fire gloves (for hot handles or door latches), and smoke mask, our goal is to give equestrians the tools to evacuate their own horses in the early stages of an emergency before the fire department arrives and ultimately keep them safe from structure fires. We are also working on collaborative efforts with fire departments to train them on evacuating horses with these tools when arriving on the scene of a barn fire, and on creating flood rescue, shipping extraction, veterinary add-ons, and other equestrian focused safety equipment.
There is nothing as meaningful to the horse/human experience as safety and saving lives. In fact, horses have historically created for humans a level of safety just by allowing them to ride on their backs, or saved their lives in battle, in the show ring, or on a trail. Horses are our wards and the relationship between a horse and their human is somewhat undefinable in its beauty, a connection built on a millennia of evolution and growth. We owe it to our horses to protect and save them from the worst case scenario that domestication can deal out. FireHorse’s mission and vision is to innovate barn fire safety and give equestrians the tools to protect their most valuable asset: the horses. Right now there is a major hole in the market when it comes to barn fire safety. There is zero standard practice for daily fire safety, and besides clunky ABC extinguishers, suppression methods that are expensive to install and maintain or have a steep learning curve of use (fire hoses, sprinkler systems). With FireHorse’s rescue kits, we provide an affordable, visible, easy to use system complete with innovations in every layer of foam. With no other commercially available equine blindfolds on the market, FireHorse’s are one-of-a-kind and exceptionally dynamic, with uses ranging from shipping to veterinary to fire rescue. Each rescue kit in every barn across the US represents our dedication to connecting the selfless spirit of firefighters with the underlying principles of horsemanship that define us as equestrians. While we hope you never need us, we hope that the seeing the FireHorse logo daily at the barn inspires a new level of daily safety and the tools to save lives in an emergency."
▪FireHorse Co-Founder & Battalion Chief, Ryan N. (name withheld as he is active duty)
Where FireHorse Rescue Kits are actively being used as a fire safety and horse evac tool:
Wellington International, "Official Fire Rescue Kit of the 2024 Annual Series"
Kentucky Horse Park, "Official Sponsor of the Herd and Equine Team"
Los Angeles Equestrian Center, "Official Fire Rescue Kit"
TerraNova Equestrian Center, "Official Fire Rescue Kit and Sponsor"
FireHorse Innovation - Patented Products & Equestrian Fire Safety
FireHorse Rescue Kits, LLC was founded by career firefighters and lifelong equestrians seeking to bridge the gap between daily barn life and fire safety. Every kit contains a selection of items to be used in a fire or other emergency, and the 100% made-in-the-USA case contains custom foam to protect and prevent damage. Designed to be hung in the main barn breeze way, FireHorse Rescue Kits are an easy way to ensure that every equestrian in the barn is prepared for a potentially dangerous situation.
One of the kit's integral components are patent pending equine blindfolds, developed specifically for use in emergency situations. These horse blindfolds wear like a fly mask and restrict the horse’s vision up to 80%. During fire panic, horses have been known to refuse to leave their stalls or to return to a burning structure seeking safety. FireHorse's blindfolds are intended to allow equestrians or first responders to remove animals safely and intended to reduce injury and panic by removing visual stimulation. They are additionally useful for trailering, for horses sensitive to needles, and to reduce panic when waking up from anesthesia.
Each kit also includes two handheld, point & spray canned extinguishers. These are easy to use for any one, from children to senior citizens, and perfect for small fires, especially hay, shavings, or feed room flames. An excellent alternative to more cumbersome, full sized extinguishers, these also require less maintenance and are readily available in the case.
During fires, the heat can melt or make latches, door knobs, locks, and other metal items impossible to handle or touch. Heat resistant to 1472 degrees and flame retardant, the gloves in every FireHorse Rescue Kit are made of a mix of breathable cotton knitting and double layered fiber with silicone for grip and fire resistance.
These are just a few of the innovative items found in each Rescue Kit. For a full list, visit www.FireHorseRescue.com/whatsinside
For more information on FireHorse Rescue Kits, visit www.FireHorseRescue.com
Follow FireHorse on Facebook and Instagram @firehorserescuekits
Media Contact:
Holly Johnson
Equinium Sports Marketing, LLC
www.Equinium.com
holly@equinium.com
+ 1 954 205 7992