Planning for fire safety

There are steps that horse owners can take to prepare themselves and their property before the fire season, to reduce the impact of bushfire. The key is to prepare, act and survive.

Leave early or stay and actively defend?… It’s your decision

Everyone’s situation differs according to the size and nature of their horse enterprise. That is why each and every horse owner needs to develop an individual survival plan, coolly and calmly, before the hot weather arrives. When developing your bushfire survival plan it is important to include your horses and other animals.

Have a plan

If you live in a high-risk area it is essential to develop a bushfire survival plan before the fire season. This may include:

• A plan for early evacuation of horses to a safer district. Horse evacuations present unique problems. Make arrangements well ahead of time for a place to temporarily relocate your horses. Options may include showgrounds, sale yards, parks, racetracks, pony club grounds or placement with family and friends. Decide in advance which horses you will evacuate and make sure they are suitably trained for transport.
• Identifying a ‘safe’ area on the property where horses can be placed if evacuation is not possible or practical. This area should be as large as possible and may be a closely grazed paddock or be created from several paddocks by opening internal gates. Ideally it should have a dam with clear access. An alternative temporary ‘safe’ area might be a large well fenced sand ménage (provided water is available) and that there are no trees or buildings nearby that will burn readily.
• Posting your plan in a clearly visible place together with the telephone number of the local fire brigade and your property’s CFA map reference and PIC number.
• Making sure that everyone who lives, works or agists at your property understands the plan.
• On days of Extreme, Severe or Code Red fire danger rating (FDR), putting your horses in the designated ‘safe’ area or, if you work away from the property or are leaving early, you might do this the night before.
• Having an annual meeting with neighbours, friends or other mutual interest groups to discuss fire contingency plans and establish ahead of time who will check on and help whom and which resources will be shared.
• Setting up a bushfire emergency plan with the landholder if your horses are agisted.
• Leaving horses in well-grazed paddocks if they are on ‘weekenders’ in high-risk areas, or moving them to a safer location during the fire season.

Regularly socialise your horse with other horses in a paddock environment if possible, so that they are less stressed when put together with other horses during a fire.

Reduce fire hazards

Reduce fire hazards before the fire season starts:

• remove all fire fuel such as excess grass, sticks, leaf litter, etc., for 20 to 30 metres around buildings
• store hay, straw, shavings, scrap wood, fuel supplies and chemicals safely away from important buildings
• clean roof surfaces and gutters regularly
• create firebreaks in strategic locations
• develop a grazing plan to reduce fire risk
• having a well-watered lawn and little (if any) garden vegetation will help protect the house
• post ‘no smoking’ signs in and around the stable, feed storage areas and in vegetated areas as appropriate
• make sure chainsaws and other equipment are fitted with an Australian Standards approved spark arrester
• if you live in a high-risk area, invest in a rainwater storage tank, a sprinkler system and a firefighting pump, and consider erecting fireproof fencing, i.e. steel or concrete posts, particularly if you own a stallion
• if your fences are electrified, make sure the boundary fences are ‘horse proof’ as often power is out during a bushfire
• consider slashing paddocks at the start of the bushfire season to prepare a safe, grazed area.

Prepare an evacuation kit

Equip a plastic rubbish bin (with lid) with the following:

• wire cutters and a sharp knife
• torch, portable radio and fresh batteries
• water bucket
• extra lead rope and head collar
• woollen blanket and towels
• equine first aid items
• whatever else you feel is essential for the first 24 hours
• bottled water.

Store your kit in an easily accessible location and don’t use it if for anything other but emergencies.

Identify your horses

Permanently identified horses (preferably by microchip but brands or a drawing, which includes whorls and white markings, will also assist) will be more speedily reunited with their owners if separation occurs during a disaster.

If fire threatens

• Decide quickly
• Wear safe attire
• Ensure fire-safe gear for horses

When fire strikes

When fire comes your way, your personal safety and that of the people working with you is paramount, so:

• try to remain calm and alert, think clearly and act decisively
• pay attention to weather conditions and fire behaviour. Watch for a sudden change in wind direction or speed, a dramatic change in air temperature or humidity, or smoke and ash or burning embers dropping around you
• monitor weather forecasts and media broadcasts, especially ABC radio and local community radio stations for emergency information, social media may also provide valuable information such as the CFA fire ready site
• maintain good communications with the people you’re working with; give clear instructions and make sure they are understood
• co-operate with firefighters and other emergency services. Your safety and the safety of other civilians and emergency personnel are their paramount concern.

Ensure you have read the CFA advice on staying and actively defending your property and follow the advice given there.

If your property is closely threatened by a bushfire and you can’t move your horses to a safer district:

• fill troughs, baths, sinks and metal buckets with reserve water for later use
• turn off power and gas and disconnect electrical fences
• remove all equipment from your horse.  Rugs burn, plastic headstalls melt and metal buckles may get hot
• move your horses into your previously identified ‘safe’ area
• if you take horses out of stables, close the doors to prevent them running back into their perceived ‘safe’ area
• if you are shifting fractious horses when a fire is very close, a temporary blindfold over the eyes may help
• if hoses are still operational wet tails and manes or drench the horse in water if it has to pass near or through fire. Early veterinary literature based on stable fires suggests that this will protect a horse from serious burns for about half a minute afterwards.

Remember:

• To give your horses plenty of room to move. Past experience of bushfires indicates that horses will suffer minimal burns if given maximum space. They will gallop through flames, or around their edges, and stand on the blackened, previously burnt area and remain there until the fire has passed.
• Don’t shut horses in stables or small yards. Never turn them out on the road. They will be in danger from traffic and the fire. There is also the risk that they may cause a car accident, leaving you legally responsible.
• Don’t stay with horses when the fire approaches. There is little one can do during this time and your safety is paramount. While horses might gain confidence from the nearness of humans and a calming voice, you can’t provide this assurance when smoke is everywhere and the sound of the fire is deafening. Don’t put your own life in additional danger.

Your horse will cope well on its own if it has a chance to move in open space.

After the fire has passed

Deal with spot fires first. As soon as it is safe check your horses for burns and other injuries to see whether veterinary attention is required.

• First aid
• Possible problems
• Burns
• Smoke inhalation
• Hoof damage
• Nutrition

Develop and practice your fire safety plan now