Barns and stables, filled with highly flammable hay, bedding, and feed, are a big fire risk. Add the presence of panicked animals and you have a recipe for a disaster if a fire breaks out.

Unfortunately, stable fires aren’t an uncommon occurrence. If you look in most stables, you can find wet hay stored near horses, oily rags, cigarette smoking, and overloaded or damaged electrical wiring and heaters. All these are leading causes of fires.But these expensive and tragic disasters can be simply prevented by understanding the problem.

Hay is often stored in the same barn or stable with horses to save time and cost.

This usually causes no problems, but many owners don’t realize that improperly cured and baled hay can cause a fire. Even good hay stored under a leaking roof can start fires. The best ways to prevent hay fires are to keep hay in a separate location, and make sure it is dry when stored and stays dry in storage.

There are many other causes of fires. Some common ones and ways of preventing them:

• Overloaded or damaged extension cords. The simple solution to this one is just to not use extension cords. If it is unavoidable, use heavy-duty cords and only use one appliance per cord.
• Damaged electrical wires—often caused by rodents, damaged wires can spark fires. Replace the damaged wires instead of wrapping them with electrical tape, which does not fix the problem. To prevent rodents from chewing wiring, run it through metal conduits rather than plastic or PVC ones. Also, stringing wires over nails can result in the insulation being damaged over the nail, causing a risk of fires. All wires should be properly strung through metal conduits.
• Dust from hay or bedding. When this collects on electrical appliances, heaters, and fans, it can combust and start fires. Clean the interior of electric appliances regularly to prevent the dust from building up.
• Smoking, if allowed at all on the ranch, should never be allowed in or near the barn. Smokers should light up no less than twenty feet from the barns.
• Improper use of heaters—Heaters that blow directly on bedding, rags, or hay can cause severe fires because the heaters are often left unattended. Read the heater’s directions carefully, and make sure they blow into an open area free of flammable materials.
• Rags and paper towels used to clean tack and hooves can spontaneously combust if soaked with oil or petroleum products and left in a pile. Don’t leave these rags in a heap. If they are stored so that the heat can safely dissipate into the air, rather than remaining trapped in a pile, there is little risk of fire.

Taking the time now to perform these fire prevention steps can save a costly and dangerous fire later.