Reducing the Risk of Fire on Your Farm - Ontario Ministry of ...

1.0 Leading Causes <strong>of</strong> Farm Building <strong>Fire</strong>s1.0 Leading Causes <strong>of</strong> Farm Building <strong>Fire</strong>sThe Office <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Fire</strong> Marshal manages a database on all fire and explosion occurrences in Ontario. Datareported by fire departments for 2004 – 2007 were analyzed for occurrences involving farm buildings to identifycommon causes and what can be learned to reduce <strong>the</strong>m. Figure 1 shows a very large swine facility after it wasdestroyed by fire, in less than one hour.Figure 1.0. This large swine barn was completely destroyed by fire.(Photo credit: P. Stolk, Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan)While <strong>the</strong> sources <strong>of</strong> many fires are undetermined due to significant fire damage, <strong>the</strong>re are three leadingcauses <strong>of</strong> identifiable farm fires, as reported by fire services.Mechanical/electrical failure• short circuit or ground fault in electrical equipment• failure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> built-in automatic controls in mechanical equipment or systemMisuse <strong>of</strong> ignition source or igniting equipment• improperly discarded smoker’s material• ignition source left unattended• smoking where flammable vapours are present• improper use <strong>of</strong> extension cords (e.g. overloaded circuit, multiple strings in sequence)Design, construction or maintenance deficiency• improperly constructed building feature or system• improperly installed object such as a heating appliance that is too close to combustible building features• improper maintenance such as failure to remove accumulation <strong>of</strong> combustible dust or debris, which is <strong>the</strong>nignited by heating appliances, process equipment or electrical equipment• faulty product design causes a fire even when <strong>the</strong> product is installed and used correctly1