 |
[RC] Emergency planning suggestions: fires - Elizabeth ChaseFriends, I just pulled this off my medieval re-enactment list; hopefully it will help someone in a high risk area. My prayers to all of you who are at risk; I wish I was close enough to be of real assistance. Liz MN For those in So Cal with the fires, here is some advice from a firefighter who also owns horses. I think it is relevant for all of us, as we may all experience fires, some of us more than others,? (Florida in the Spring time,?) With permission from zzrmags, I pulled this off of Live Journal. Later, Chiere zzrmags wrote in equestrian Hey there all. My prayers are with all of you in the fire affected areas, I'm a firefighter from Australia where this happens to us pretty much every summer. Seems to me like most of you have the same concerns so I hope maybe this post from a firefighter?s perspective may help you a little. Firstly, please ensure that your horse is not wearing any gear that contains plastic elements, such as fly masks, pvc (or nylon) halters, that sort of thing. Plastic melts and weakens. If it's a facial covering your pony is going to get burned ( I have seen this and do not care to EVER see it again), if it's a halter if they pull back it will snap, not to mention also melt. Rope halters are great but DON'T leave them on your horse unsupervised as they don't break when horses get tangled in stuff and they're very hard to undo when you are wearing firefighting gloves and trying to free a panicky horse. Which brings me to the next point. DON'T just let your horse go unless you have absolutely no other choice. For those of you near the fires, I'm sure you can see how extremely thick the smoke is, yes? Try driving a firetruck though that.... yeah, not good. Livestock in a panic will run right into the road way. If we need to flee a front because it's too dangerous to fight, last thing we can do is stop a great big heavy water laden firetruck on a dime when a pony dashes out in front of us. In fact, that's a really, really good way to kill someone. If you are concerned that your horse is in the fire front, evac sooner rather than later, esp if your horse is hard to load. Better safe and calm than sorry and in a panic fighting a horse who smells smoke. Prepack a haynet into the float, check the float out well beforehand to make sure everything is on order, gas up the vehicle pulling it to the limit. Prepack any tack you wish to save. Do this WELL BEFORE the evac comes into play in your area. Calm, orderly evacuation is safer, smoother and far more effective than a mad panic which causes accidents and road-blockages. If you have a light cotton rug, pop it on your horse to protect it from embers. DON'T put plastic type ones on! And no heavy duty ones either please. A horse will dehydrate awful fast in a fire condition, last thing you want is them sweating. Ensure your horse is wearing some sort of identificaion if they are in a mass evac, a simple key tag with your name, cell phone number and the suburb name you are from clipped to the halter is all that's required. An engraved metal plate like a dog tag is even better! Ensure you know your escape routes, and alternative routes you can take. Make sure everyone knows the plan, and decide who is responisble for what action and make sure they know exactly how to do it well, calmly and quickly. If your horse is stabled, make sure halters with lead ropes attached are right outside their doors, ready to go at a moments notice. Please, if you are staying to help protect your home, follow the orders of the firefighters on scene. We do everything we possibly can to protect your home, your livestock and your life, but in the end your LIFE is what we care about more than anything else. STUFF can be replaced, YOU can't. Do NOT allow children to stay. Never, ever! They do NOT move fast enough, they hide when scared, and they can not effectively help you, nor can they generally follow emergency evac plans as fast as you would need to in that sort if scenario. Send them to stay well away with someone else. If you want to help with evac of horses and other animals, contact the agency in charge of animal welfare in your area and offer your services. They will be gladly accepted and they can point you in the direction you will be most needed and where you will not hamper firefighing efforts or endanger yourself. Most counties have pre-planned evac plans which will ensure good co-ordination of volunteers and rescuers. Follow them, it makes a world of difference. A fire front is unpredictable, esp if there are high winds or winds that change direction quickly. It can move extremely fast, much faster than you can run, so don't go into the effected zones unless you absolutly have to and you have been directed to by fire crews. It drives us overseas firefighters crazy to see what's happening and not be able to help, so I hope this has maybe at last helped a little. Stay safe, everyone. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|