Safety regarding stables adjoined to hay storage

[TwinnyOlive]

As title says really... I am considering moving to a new livery yard but my biggest concern is that the stabling I'd adjoined to the hay barn and just seperated by a wooden partition, the hay barn is one of those open fronted ones.

Can anyone reassure me this I'd perfectly safe and not a fire risk?

Thanks!

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Look at the electrical wiring, is it done professionally or not.
Just mention your concern to the YO, make sure no smoking on the yard, are there fire extinguishers, is the place tidy.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Look at the electrical wiring, is it done professionally or not.
Just mention your concern to the YO, make sure no smoking on the yard, are there fire extinguishers, is the place tidy.

This ^^

Many yards have hay & bedding storage over/next to stables

 

[bakewell]

As title says really... I am considering moving to a new livery yard but my biggest concern is that the stabling I'd adjoined to the hay barn and just seperated by a wooden partition, the hay barn is one of those open fronted ones.

Can anyone reassure me this I'd perfectly safe and not a fire risk?

Thanks!

Mhmmm you're not really safe/ I wouldn't consider it a "good idea". That said it's not an abnormal situation. However the following would be taken into consideration for me if it was my only option:
Is there a fire alarm? (/sprinklers)
Does someone live immediately on site? Are the stables viewable from their hourse?
How quickly can the horses be evacuated in the event of a problem? (ie are they all down one corridor with one door or is access good) Are there enough people to do this?
Is there electricity in the hay barn (say NO!)
Do they have a vermin problem (see above, say no, recipe for disaster).

 

[case895]

I store over 200 bales in my stables. The bales are all on pallets with air gaps all around. I don't put in heavy sweaty bales. The wiring is professionally done with a modern RCD consumer unit. Wireless smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.

 

[pixie]

We've got 800 freshly baled bales of hay in our barn at the moment. We use long temperature probes and test it in several places every day. We'll continue to test it for around 6 weeks as after this the chance of spontaneous combustion is very, very low.

Thereafter, as with straw storage, it really is just about making sure that any nearby electricity is safe and that no-one is smoking nearby.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Yes, newly baled hay bales are still not mature, and if they are not dry enough they can combust, but most yards with small hay storage areas are buying in from farmers, only bales newly baled are susceptible, this means summer, when most horses are out anyway.

 

[OWLIE185]

You are quite correct to be concerned. Large quantities of hay should not be stored adjacent to a stable block. There should be a large fire break between the stable block and hay storage area. There is a very good book about preventing fires in stables and agricultural buildings which is worth a read as it is written by a fire officer.

 

[Casey76]

We have about 200 tonnes of hay and straw behind the stables (one barn divided down the middle, stables on one side hay/straw on the other), though the dividing wall is concrete, and all stables have direct access to the yard.

 

[TwinnyOlive]

Thanks for all the replies! So if it was your horse potentially moving would ypi be at ease or not?

 

[Dizzle]

I'd be more worried about dust.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Have a very close look at the electrics in the stables and hay barn.You don't want to see dangly cables or poorly situated sockets, and there should be a decent trip system in place.

We (well, the long suffering OH )have fully rewired our wooden stable block. Whilst the previous job was perfectly adequate, all the cables are now encased in rodent proof plastic conduit tubing. Any sockets are well out of horse reach. There is a trip system in the stables and another master one back at the house.

I wouldn't be happy about the hay being so close to the stables, but it is a common arrangement. If you're happy that all reasonable safeguards have been taken, then if the yard is suitable in every other way, then go for it.