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Trees and Fire Prevention
Our barn is located amongst many large trees, they are also in some of the paddocks. Removing them is not an option. What proactive actions can be taken to help reduce the risk of fire?Bob Webb, Manager, Fire Safety, Woodbine Entertainment Group
That's an interesting problem. Depending on the type of trees you have, evergreen trees in warm weather, tend to dry out, depending on the amount of rainfall you receive and become very combustible with lightning or smokers /sparks in the immediate area. I advise if at all possible, to thin out the branches closest to the barn, to reduce the risk of burning embers coming in contact with or blowing onto your barn roof. Also, I would recommend you store and hay or bedding away from the barn and keep the ground clear of loose hay/straw to reduce the chance of fire spread. I also suggest keeping at least a 10 to 15 foot clear dirt path around your barn as a fire block if the trees happen to catch fire. This path being dirt is non combustible and fire will not spread on the ground towards your barn or paddock. In the case of the paddock and the trees - keeping in mind also there appearance try to keep the trees pruned back as much as possible. This will reduce the risk of branches that might be close to the ground from spreading the fire laterally to out-buildings or your barn. I also recommend if you happen to have a good water source (pond or creek) that you could use this to help irrigate these trees to keep them moist in dry warm weather and reduce your chance of fire. This pond or creek, could also act as a secondary water supply for fire-fighting by means of a portable pump and 100 feet of nylon fire hose. (available through most farm supply companies) at a reasonable cost.