Barb Millier, one of the owners of Classy Lane Stables
in Puslinch Township that burned a year ago, claiming 43 racehorses, has advice
for farmers – check your electrical systems.
"There's a lot of little things that can be done
that people just don't realize until it happens," Millier said in an
interview with CBC.
"What I really want to do is get the word out to
people that you can do more to make it safe."
After “a lot of digging,” she and her partner, Jamie
Millier, have:
- replaced
all electrical outlets in their six barns with arc fault outlets, which shut
off if there is anything wrong with the appliances that are plugged into them;
- put timers
on all the dryers in the laundry rooms, so that they could not be used over
night;
- installed
heat and smoke detectors, which – if triggered – set off strobe
lights and a siren outside the barns and send text messages to eight cell phones,
and
- installed
a dry suppressant system in all barn offices and laundry rooms, which operate
similar to traditional sprinkler systems, but emit a dry powder similar to
baking soda.
"We feel quite comfortable with what we've done
and we feel we've done all we can," Millier said.
