Barn fire

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Thu. Aug. 24, 2017 5:05 pm

Just down the road from us. I would put money on poor wiring. We have the facilities to house them all so I am going to wander over and see if they need help. A tragedy for all ... but the animals are OK. I always wonder if whackos did this as we have a few around....


http://www.recordonline.com/news/20170823/blaze-hits-barn-at-goshen-historic-track-10-horses-saved


 
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Post by gaw » Thu. Aug. 24, 2017 8:09 pm

At least the horses got out. No cheap meat for the French.
I guess they will rebuild? Something more modern.

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Thu. Aug. 24, 2017 8:15 pm

Something more modern.
It was a beautiful historic building. Modern c rap replacements we don't need.

 
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Post by freetown fred » Thu. Aug. 24, 2017 9:35 pm

Sad stuff on the barn Simon--good the critters got out.

 
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Post by samhill » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 7:53 am

Last one in these parts was due to critters biting into the wires, no cattle harmed but a whole lot of hay.

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 8:29 am

In really old barns I would rate the hazards like this ...

Original wiring problems

Critters eating old wiring

but this year right up there with the rest is wet hay and spontaneous combustion ... nasty. Tedders can only do so much when it rains all the time. Moisture probes are of limited use.

 
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Post by freetown fred » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 9:38 am

Yep, I'm waitin for some serious fire problems up this way. Hopefully not but ya can never tell. Moisture probes???????? We got them, they're called hands!! :lol:


 
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Post by coalnewbie » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 11:31 am

Sharpen those scythes and break out the Percherons. I want to see your pic of you doing that father time impression.

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 2:34 pm

Last one in these parts was due to critters biting into the wires
Yes Sam, I ripped out all the Romex and replaced it with MC armored. No time stamped romex to the inspector to bitch about if an issue ever arises. Horses/rats/democrats don't bite through it. It's cheap insurance. BTW, I use MC armored for everything. Damp hay, now THAT I worry about. We get locally and I go over and inspect the hay as it is being cut.

Super wet hay is NEVER dry again and if I have an issue I source from our Finger Lakes supplier. They seem to know what we want and are prepared to pay attention.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 3:53 pm

If I ever build a new house I would consider armored cable for everything. I have seen way too many pieces of Romex chewed to the copper.

 
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Post by top top » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 5:55 pm

samhill wrote:Last one in these parts was due to critters biting into the wires, no cattle harmed but a whole lot of hay.
I wonder why the fuse did not protect the wire. Also how would they know, wouldn't the jacket have been burned off anyway? Tooth marks on the copper maybe? I have found a few mice in a wall that were fried by chewing on the wiring, but no sign of charring. Old, loose connections are another story. Just in one old house I had two boxes overheat and start smoking, one a simple light switch, the other a wall outlet for the washer.

 
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Post by samhill » Fri. Aug. 25, 2017 9:00 pm

TT, you don't need much of a spark for dry hay. The barn in question I was told they found the rat right there where they figured the origin was. The neighbor grows his own hay & uses both probes & the same people unloading the elevator & stacking, it gets easy to judge a heavier bale & you set them aside. For the drying that's why he always tries to wait for a 4 day window & keeps checking before bailing.
I just had to have some vacuum lines on my van replaced from mice damage & put a new unit on my AC a couple of years back, moth balls seem to keep them out pretty well. Think I over did it in my van but after a few miles you get used to it. :oops:

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Sat. Aug. 26, 2017 7:07 am

My visit to the track has convinced me it's hay related and I know the supplier. No names, no pack drill. Guys, just be careful out there. Pick up every bail and sort out the heavies and have people who know what a heavy is. Einstein does not move hay for a living. This will not be the last barn fire I fear. The horses escaped - yep - dumb luck and thank you Helen X who does not even work there.

 
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Post by freetown fred » Sat. Aug. 26, 2017 7:26 am

Ya don't need ANY spark with damp hay. I've seen them light up out in the field on a clear day!! The original internal combustion. Yep, thanx Helen!! The smell of burnin critters is something ya don't forget. Had a neighbor over the hill that lost the barn plus 100+ dairy cows yrs. back. Nothin we (fire company) could do by the time we got there except to keep it from spreading.

 
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Post by NoSmoke » Mon. Aug. 28, 2017 9:05 pm

Around here spontaneous combustion gets blamed for a lot of barn fires, but honestly the accuracy is the owners just want the insurance to pay for it. I know in theory it can happen, but I would bet 99% of the time it is another cause. Paper burns at 400 degrees and a super hot compost bin is cranking away at 170 degrees, that is a LONG ways from 400 degrees and what it takes to light up dry hay. So that is why I say wet hay gets blamed for fires that start another way I think.

But my Great-Grandfather...a scoundrel admittedly if there ever was one, started his share of barn fires. He would buy up a neighbors farm, but needing the land and not the house and barn would put insurance on it, put a hired man in it, then magically it would burn down. One day a hired man had bought a new car and was talking about it, and my Great-Grandfather put his hand on the grill, rubbed it lovingly and said, "fine looking car young man; might not want to park too close to the house as it might just melt one of these nights." The hired man got so scared that very night that he moved his wife and kids out of the house in the middle of the night as my Gretta-Grandfather's reputation was as such. It did burn a few nights later by all accounts, hired man left the ash door open to the stove you know???

The man was so crooked he could hide behind a cork screw, but he added a lot of land base to our original farm. Today certain fields like the "Porter Place", the "Davis Place", the "Hamlin Place", and others were all once stand alone farms, maybe a hundred acres in size, all acquired with their houses and barns burned. Of course the money would then be used to buy another farm and thus it went.


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