FIRST, A LITTLE HISTORY
At present, there are about 9.2 million horses in the United States. Back in 1880 there were 11 million horses here, and in 1905--the year that Henry Ford started building trucks--there were 17 million horses in the nation. Amazingly, by 1921, with the motor car firmly entrenched in our society, the horse population was at a high of 20 million. While many of these horses were employed in farm work, many were living in cities where they pulled freight wagons, carriages, and trams. Horses living in cities were commonly kept in stables that were sometimes 2 and 3 stories tall. There were ramps leading from one floor to the others, and my guess is that most of these horses never saw a grassy pasture in their entire lifetimes. These urban barns were (and there are still some in Manhattan and other major cities) often squeezed in between office buildings or tenements. Or, the buildings were constructed flush against each side of the stables. In either case, the only way to evacuate horses whose stalls were on the upper floors was to lead them down the ramps and out either a back or front door. If a fire started on the main floor--at ground level--probably the only things that were saved were the wagons parked inside. Since smoke rises and those ramps made perfect chimneys, it's a good bet that every horse died of smoke inhalation before the flames even touched the upper floors.
Fortunately for the horses, there are very few now housed in urban centers, and if they are, such as police horses, their stables are usually good facilities that often include some acreage and paddocks for turnouts. There are still many horses on working farms, particularly here in Ohio, where we have large Amish communities, but also common are horse barns that are constructed on properties with very little acreage, placing neighboring barns and other outbuildings in close proximity. This "closeness" creates the danger of widespread damage should a barn or pasture catch fire. Many more horses are also housed in large boarding stables and race track shed-row barns.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated that for the years 1999-2000, there was an average of 5,800 structure fires in barns and other facilities housing livestock. In each of those years an average of one person died and 34 people were injured, and there was an estimated loss of $124.6 million in direct property damage. Since horses are listed under property losses, I can't tell you how many horses died in each of those years, but let us consider that if even one horse dies in a fire per year, it is still one too many. And we all know that many more than one horse has died in barn fires in a given year...multiple deaths in barn fires and other livestock facilities are common--just look at my chart.
 Structure Fires in Livestock or Poultry Storage Facilities (256k PDF) |
Here's what the National Fire Protection Association has documented, but keep in mind as you look at this information, that not all the barn fires that occur are reported to the NFPA. Also keep in mind that the fires recorded on my chart are gleaned from both printed and televised news account. That means that neither the NFPA nor I have complete information.
As you can see from the NFPA table, and from the information on my chart, where the cause of the fires was known, there was almost always a way to prevent the fire from starting or spreading...
Looking at all those facts and figures can be overwhelming in the tragedy they present. I'm glad to say, though, that since 1984, when Appaloosa World Editor Jerry Matacale gave me the go-ahead to write an article about fire safety for horse barns, a number of agricultural colleges and some freelance equine writers have helped to spread the word about fire safety. It's also encouraging to see more knowledgeable responses in web chat rooms and groups when the topic turns to fire safety.
For more information about carriage horses, visit: http://www.aspca.org/media/carriagehorse.pdf
For a look at the Cleveland Police Mount Unit, visit: http://www.clevelandmountedpolice.com/history.php
Read Fran Jurga's article, "New York's Fire Horses" on Equisearch.com at: