Fires and Tornadoes
P AT M AYKUTH , P H D
FIRES
Unfortunately, barn fires happen with some regularity and are the leading disaster for horse owners. Barn fires spread swiftly, leaving little time to forge an escape. Following are tips for horse owners which also apply to other disasters:
Plan
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Develop an evacuation plan and make sure all employees and horse handlers are familiar with it.
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An important part of fire prevention is working with your local fire department. Offer the local fire department a tour of your facility or property and ask them for suggestions or improvements for fire protection.
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Install a properly pressurized sprinkler system.
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Install a fire detection system that can be heard from inside the house or one that directly connects to 911 emergency operators.
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Add lightning rods to the barn
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If you live in a wildlife area make sure you have a 50 foot firebreak (a strip of plowed or cleared land to stop a fire from spreading) around the barn.
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Be aware that horses tend to run back into burning barns out of fear and confusion, as it is their safe zone.
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Familiarize your horse with emergency procedures and try to desensitize them to flashing lights.
Prepare
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Keep aisles, stall doors, and barn doors free of debris and equipment.
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Mount fire extinguishers at each entrance and around the stable.
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Prepare a basic first aid kit that is portable and easily accessible.
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Make arrangements with a friend or another horse owner to stable your horses if needed.
 Make sure that the horses’ halters and lead ropes are easily accessible, preferably hanging on each horses’ stall.
Prevent
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Prohibit smoking in or around the barn. A discarded cigarette can ignite hay in seconds.
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Inspect electrical systems regularly.
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Keep the barn clean and free of dust, cobwebs, trash, oily tack or cleaning rags, and soiled paper towels.
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Do not store bedding materials or hay in the horse barn.
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After a fire, be sure to have all horses checked by a veterinarian. Do not assume that just because the horse looks okay after a fire, that no damage has been done. Smoke inhalation

can cause serious lung damage and respiratory complications. Horses are prone to stress and may experience colic after a fire.
WILDFIRES
An imminent wildfire creates two major upheavals for horse owners: mandated evacuation and immediate post-disaster property damage to horses’ homes (barns), as well as power loss and potentially unsafe road conditions prohibiting travel for food and/or medical supplies.
Evacuations
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Pre-plan escape routes.
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Discuss your escape plans with your veterinarian.
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Leave 48 hours before the fire arrives, when possible, so you and your trailered horse are not stuck in traffic.
Preparation for all scenarios
 Maintain horses’ encephalitis vaccinations every 6 months.
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Always have proper animal identification that’s updated and easily accessible—which includes:
1.
Pictures
2.
Brands or tattoos
3.
Microchip ID
4.
Fetlock ID bands
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Create an emergency barn kit that includes:
1.
waterproof trunk
2.
thermometer
3.
bandages, scissors and gauze
4.
ointment
5.
radio, flashlight, and extra batteries
6.
poultice
7.
electrolytes
8.
fly spray
9.
halter and shank
10.
iodine, furicine, peroxide, and petroleum jelly
11.
Keep a 1-week supply of water and feed on hand in the event of post-disaster inaccessibility
Noted disaster planner, woodsman and horseman, Eldon Reyer from New Mexico, has thought deeply and hard about what horse folks need to do for disaster planning. He is particularly insightful about wild fires: www.bchnm-santafe.org/Horse_owner_info.php
His advice:
1. Familiarize yourself with the types of disasters/emergencies that could occur in your area.
Develop a written plan of action for each. Review your plan regularly with everyone involved,

including friends and neighbors. Post emergency numbers in a visible location in your stable or barn.
2. Survey your property for the best location for animal confinement for each type of disaster.
Identify food and water sources that do not rely on electricity.
3. Photograph left/right sides of each equine as well as face, medial, and lower legs. Have a photo of your animal with you in the picture to help identify the animal as yours when picking it up from an evacuation area.
4. Record its breed, sex and color and keep with important papers. You can permanently ID your equine by tattoo, brand, or microchip. Temp ID by tags on the fetlocks and halters, painted on hooves, or greasemarks/paint(permanent-type paint) on hide.
5. Keep your horses’ vaccinations up to date, dosages and types of medications the animal receives and any dietary requirements. Keep copies of this with your important papers and with your Emergency Plan.
6. Keep your horse trailer and towing vehicle insured, in good condition, and checked for safety.
Keep your towing vehicle’s gas tank at least 1/2 full.
7. Make sure your equine will load! Your trailer/ someone else’s is useless if you cannot ger the horse to load.
8. Keep hay and supplemental feed on hand. Consider keeping a tranquilizer on hand should a horse become panicked during a crisis. Ask your Vet what is available and what you can administer.
9. Have a halter/ lead rope ready for each horse. Hand it outside the barn or stall.
10. Keep extra feed and buckets ready to go,
11. Have a Disaster Preparedness Kit ready, Talk with your vet about what to include in this.
12. Transport or prepare to transport your horse to a safe evac site. It is best to do this before an emergency, even several days in advance-if possible. Do not wait until the last minute.
13. If unable to move your equines, make sure all preparations to keep them on the property are in place and secure.
14. If you must leave your horses when you evacuate, make sure they are wearing halters with ID and temporary markings before turning loose.
15. In developing a personal emergency plan, the following info and suggestions are offered
A.) Do not count on others to rescue your animals.
B.) Have a pre-arranged place to take your horses.
C.) Plan alternate escape routes.
D.) Fires driven by strong winds can jump roads.
E.) Inform friends and neighbors of your evacuation plans.
16. Have a “travel bag” ready at the barn door. This should contain a jacket, gloves, important papers, knife, wire cutters, first aid kit, flashlight, Vick’s Vapor Rub, and two-way radio.
Evacuation
During a fire (and some other disasters) evacuation may be an option.

In Case of Fire Evacuation
During an emergency the time you have to evacuate your horse or horses will be limited. With an effective personal emergency plan coupled with predetermined holding facilities, you may have enough time to move your horses to safety.
If you are unprepared or wait until the last minute to evacuate, emergency management officials may tell you that you must leave your horses behind. Once you leave your property, you have no way of knowing how long you will be kept out of the area. To avoid this situation, the following information and suggestions are offered to help you plan for emergencies.
Do not count on others to rescue your animals. Being prepared for an emergency evacuation is important for all animals, but it takes extra consideration for horses because of their size and transportation needs. Horses may panic when they smell smoke. If you delay evacuation until danger is imminent, you may not be able to control and load your horses.
How To Prepare:
1. Plan an escape route(s) for taking your equines to safety.
2. Make arrangements in advance to have your horses trailered in case of emergency.
3. IF you do not have a trailer or one large enough for all horses to be evacuated, arrange in advance for help. Develop a community plan with call lists for assistance.
5. Inform neighbors and friends of your evacuation plans. Post detailed instructions in several places—including the barn entrance—to ensure they are accessible to emergency workers in case you are not able to evacuate your own animals.
6. Place your horses’ papers in a watertight envelope or container and be ready to take it with you . It is suggested you include veterinary papers, ID photos, vital info, medical history, allergies, feed type, veterinarian, and family members with phone numbers.
7. Keep halters ready for your horse. Attach info directly to the halter. (plastic bag taped around halter strap) The top of the halter is a good place. Use strapping tape, not scotch tape. Info inside bag should include: Horse’s name, Your name, contact info (cell or other numbers), vet’s name and number, other phone numbers where someone can be reached, and any feed or medication instructions.
8. Have a travel bag ready at the barn which can include water, hay, feed, and meds for several days for each horse. A jar of Vic’s Vapor Rub to put on nostrils can help if the horse is smelling smoke, and a small first aid kit.
9. It is important that your horses are comfortable being loaded into a trailer. If your horses are unaccustomed to being loaded into a trailer, practice the procedure so they become used to it.
Rescuers may not be able to take the time to load an unwilling horse. Leave loading instructions (such as if one horse loads first. others will follow) if possible.
10. IF you must leave your horses when you evacuate your property, make sure they are wearing halters with ID and turn them loose.
Consultant:
Eldon Reyer
Northern New Mexico
Horseman’s Association
(505) 466-6280

Tornadoes
Tornado preparedness has a different set of considerations. Keeping horses and livestock safe during a fast-moving storm has its own set of challenges. For residents of the mid-west and southeast, tornados are an annual occurrence. Areas prone to this type of disaster should consider the following.
The Horse Channel content is informative www.horsechannel.com/horse-news/2013/05/21tornado-preparedness-for-horse-owners.aspx
Tornado Preparedness for Horse Owners:
The following are some simple steps that will help you be prepared in case of this natural disaster.
Where to Ride out the Storm
The first question that arises when discussing how to keep horses safe in a tornado is whether it is better to house them in the barn or to put them outside. There isn’t a single right answer to this question. Putting horses out in a large pasture will give them the opportunity to move out of the path of the storm, an option that stabled horses don’t have if the barn ends up in the path of a tornado. If you have a large, open pasture available, this is generally the best option.
However, for horses who are not accustomed to staying in a large pasture, it may be preferable to keep them in familiar surroundings to reduce anxiety. Furthermore, pastures with lots of trees or that are surrounded by objects that could be picked up by a tornado and turned into flying debris may not be safer than the barn.
Humans and pets should get out of the barn when a tornado warning is declared and into a basement or an interior room, without a window, on the lowest level of a building.
Planning Ahead
Although hurricanes, floods and nor’easters can be devastating, horse owners affected by those natural disasters typically have some warning time to prepare. Tornadoes can appear with very little warning and their paths are unpredictable. For this reason, evacuating horses may not be an option. However, if you live in a tornado-prone area, there are still steps you can take to be prepared.
Before tornado season begins, find a friend with a horse property or a commercial facility that will take on boarders so that you will have somewhere to take your horse while you rebuild if your barn is damaged in the storm. Ideally, this facility will be far enough away that it is unlikely to be damaged in the same weather event, but close enough to be practical.
When a tornado warning is declared, put leather or breakaway halters or leather collars on every horse at your facility, and make sure each one has your phone number on it. If your barn or fences are damaged and your horses get loose, this will help increase the chances that they are returned to you quickly. Additionally, some owners will write their phone number on their horse’s body with a grease pen or some other permanent marking. Halters may break or fall off, and there is a risk of your horse getting his halter caught on something and injuring himself, so using a different form of identification is often an alternative in addition to halter identification.
After the Storm Passes

Once the tornado has passed, the risks are not yet over. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) recommends checking reports from a weather radio or local broadcasts to ensure the risk of tornadoes is over before you go outside to assess the damage. Here is the CDC’s list of post-storm reminders:
Keep away from downed power lines and report them to your utility company.
Stay out of damaged buildings and homes until local emergency management officials have indicated it is safe to go inside them.
If your home has not been damaged, keep children and pets inside, away from any damage or debris outside. If you must take your pets outside, keep them on a leash to prevent them from running away and being injured by debris.
If your home is without power, use battery-powered flashlights and lanterns rather than candles to prevent accidental fires.
Cooperate fully with local public safety officials and respond to request for volunteer assistance by police, firefighters and relief organizations, but do not enter damaged areas unless specifically asked to do so.
If you suspect any damage to your home or barn, shut off electrical power, natural gas and propane tanks to avoid fire, electrocution or explosions.
Wear sturdy shoes or boots, long sleeves and gloves whenever you handle, walk around or near debris. Many of the injuries caused by tornadoes result from stepping on nails in and around damaged homes and buildings.
Clean up any dangerous spills immediately, including medicines, bleaches, chemicals, gasoline or other flammable liquids.
Helmet and Tornado Statement
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to recommend, as its first recommendation, that people in the path of a tornado find a shelter or a tornado-safe room. The safest place in the home is the interior part of a basement. If possible, get under something sturdy such as a heavy table or workbench. If outdoors, lie down in a gully or ditch.
We understand that people are looking for any useful and effective way to protect themselves.
We don’t have research on the effectiveness of helmet use to prevent head injuries during a tornado, but we do know that head injuries are common causes of death during tornadoes. The
CDC has long made the recommendation that people try to protect their heads. Because the time to react may be very short, if people choose to use helmets they should know where they are and have them readily accessible. Looking for a helmet in the few seconds before a tornado hits may delay you getting safely to shelter. If people choose to use helmets, these helmets should not be considered an alternative to seeking appropriate shelter. Rather, helmets should be considered just one part of their overall home tornado preparedness kit to avoid any delay.
The CDC continues to promote protective measures for use during natural disasters including tornadoes.