JULY 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Barn fires spark


focus on prevention Poultry, dairy barns up in smoke


Stories by PETER MITHAM


ABBOTSFORD – When fire ripped through a two-storey poultry barn at Rossdown Farms in Abbotsford on June 6, it was déjà vu for owner Dion Wiebe. Five years earlier, a fire


swept through barns on the same property, killing 15,000 birds. The latest fire killed upwards of 10,000, according to preliminary reports. Yet the fires at Rossdown


have been a far from unusual occurrence in the Fraser Valley in recent months. A fire on Keith Wilson Road in Chilliwack this past March killed 6,000 birds and a month earlier, approximately 5,000 birds died when two barns on Tolmie Road in Abbotsford caught fire.


Chilliwack assistant fire


chief Mike Bourdon deemed the fire on Keith Wilson Road to be accidental in nature, though he noted, “due to the structural damage from the fire, we were unable to determine cause.” Ron Hull, assistant fire chief with Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service, said there was nothing suspicious about those in his jurisdiction. “Most have been related to


electrical issues,” he told Country Life in BC, adding that the age of many of the buildings didn’t help. “I’ve been at three in the


past year and it falls into dairy barns as well. We have the same thing – older barns,” Hull said.


Dairy barns risk feed and uncomposted manure spontaneously combusting. Awareness of the issues is a first step in preventing the fires.


A preliminary tip sheet


provided to Country Life in BC by Abbotsford fire chief Don Beer suggests: • avoiding the storage of wet hay and silage;


• inspecting hot works to ensure adequate separation between welding, grinding and other activities that could cast sparks into chaff and other flammable materials;


• maintaining electrical equipment to prevent risk of overheating;


• avoiding overcharging batteries, which could overheat and spark fires;


• establishing proper rodent control to prevent wires from being chewed and exposed. Rodent control is a key issue on poultry farms. Reviewing biosecurity


Matsqui Ag-Repair Abbotsford, BC


604-826-3281


protocols at a BC Poultry Association workshop last fall, auditors for the four poultry groups – eggs, broilers, hatching eggs and turkeys – noted the lack of adequate barriers at the threshold of biosecure zones and a failure to maintain secure control zones. Kathy Erickson, senior auditor with the BC Chicken Marketing Board, highlighted complacency regarding rodent ingress. However, Cheryl Davie, manager of strategic initiatives for the board, told Country Life in BC that the recent fires had been “heartbreaking for farmers.” She couldn’t comment on the cause of the fires, pending “more information from the proper authorities.” Lisa Bishop-Spencer, communications manager for the Chicken Farmers of Canada, indicated farm buildings should comply with the relevant building codes. “The National Farm Building Code of Canada governs structural design, fire safety and health considerations in farm buildings,” Bishop- Spencer advised. “The British Columbia Building Code provides jurisdictional authority for farm buildings to be designed and constructed under the National Farm Building Code of Canada.”


7


A mangled mess is all that is left of the processing plant at Blackwell Dairy in Barnhartvale, near Kamloops, after fire ripped through the buildings June 14. PETER MITHAM PHOTO


Fire claims Kamloops dairy KAMLOOPS – A fire at Blackwell Dairy Farm


Inc. near Kamloops destroyed the farm’s milk processing plant, but the owners are determined to rebuild. Preliminary investigations failed to identify


a cause, but the fire appears to have started at the southeast corner of the concrete building. It spread from the loading area throughout the structure, though the office area was largely untouched by the flames. Water damage was extensive but company records are salvageable.


Also unharmed was the adjacent house and


barn, wood structures built in 1929. The farm’s herd of 150 dairy cattle were unharmed, and the milking herd of 70 animals continues to produce. Rather than being processed on site,


the milk is now being picked up by the BC Milk Marketing Board and processed elsewhere. Blackwell Dairy began processing milk in 1983 and at the time of the fire was shipping milk across the southern Interior from the Cariboo to Keremeos. A fifth of its milk came from its own herd, and the remainder from other local farms. A large portion of the Blackwell plant came


from the former Tranquille Farm, which ceased dairy operations in 1985. Growth brought additional investment. Blackwell’s losses are estimated at $3.5 million. Reconstruction will not begin till insurance adjusters have completed their work and given the go-ahead for clean-up.


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