A fire near Busby ended with the loss of 17 rescue animals last week.
In the early hours of Dec. 20, a fire broke out in a barn at Ferne’s Acres Animal Sanctuary.
Terra Maclean said they aren’t certain when the fire began, but when her spouse opened the door to go to work at 5:30 a.m. that Monday morning he got hit with a big waft of smoke.
“He kind of knew it was too much smoke to be a neighbour's brush pile or burn pile or anything. He started looking around,” she said.
He looked over the embankment to where the barn was sitting and could see flames.
“He came and yelled at me. I yelled at the kids and we raced down there but it was already done,” she said.
The barn had collapsed on itself and the inside structures were gone.
“Then it was just kind of a matter of counting heads, if you will, and seeing who made it out of the barn,” she said.
Maclean said they could see the horses and cows right away and they frantically looked for the goats and the pigs
“We couldn't find them,” she said.
Altogether, Maclean lost two pot-bellied pigs, four goats, four ducks, and seven roosters in the fire.
The animals were all rescues. They came from either Animal Care and Control, from people who couldn’t care for the animals, or from the RCMP.
Maclean said one of the goats, Gordon, came in from the RCMP in Wabaska. He had been shot and attacked by a pack of dogs.
It took him a long time to heal, said Maclean, and he was doing so well.
Maclean said they let the animals out all the time and if anyone came over, they were usually greeted by a goat or a pig.
“They were very much a part of our family. They lived in our everyday lives,” she said.
Maclean said right now they are just trying to regroup and figure things out. They will need an immediate shelter space for their cows and horses. They lost all the equipment they use to care for animals in the barn fire, as that's where they stored everything, including saddles, bridles, and horse blankets.
Eventually, after they can clean everything up, they will need a new barn.
In the future, Maclean would like to take in more animals, but for now, she is devastated.
“They were all rescues, which makes you question even more because you're trying to do a good thing. You're trying to just have these animals live their best life and then something like this happens,” Maclean said.
John Biro, manager of protective services in Westlock County, said in an email the fire is still under investigation, but it is believed a heat lamp used to provide warmth to the animals may have contributed to the loss.
“We wish Ferne's Acres the best and hope they find the public support to bounce back and continue giving a second chance to all animals,” he stated.
Biro said residential and outbuilding fires are quite common this time of year.
The cause of these fires varies from overloaded receptacles, improper gauge and length of extension cords, heat lamps, portable heaters, chimney fires, unattended candles, unattended cooking, vehicle and farm equipment stored inside the garage with block heaters plugged in, and thawing water/sewer lines with a torch.
“We may see several structure fires when the temperature hits -25 C to the -30s as everything is overloaded to provide more heat,” he said.
As we are in the midst of an extreme cold spell, Biro has some safety tips for heat lamps that he said may seem excessive, but it’s “better to be safe than sorry.”
Biro said clean up cobwebs, as barns are dusty places.
“Dust the reflector of the heat lamp before you use it and carefully wipe dust from the bulb with a dry cloth,” he said.
Animals love to nibble on wires so keep them out of reach and secured with zip ties, string, or duct tape.
Biro said it is important to double secure a heat lamp.
“Lamps are often hung over a stall using either a rope or the clamp on the actual lamp, but whatever you choose to use to secure them, use something else, too,” he said.
When Biro uses the built-in clamp, he also ties a rope or bungee to the actual lamp being careful not to touch it to the reflector, and then he ties it to a nail, beam, or the side of the pen.
“If one of the fastenings were to fail, the other would prevent it from falling into the pen,” he said.
Biro said it might be obvious to say, but never put a water bucket under a heat lamp. If the lamp falls and lands in the bucket still plugged in, it could be fatal.
“Never, ever, ever do this. Ever. No matter what,” he said.
Biro said it isn’t fail-safe but having a heat lamp cage over the bulb of a heat lamp can add some extra protection if a lamp falls, as it could prevent the bulb from touching something flammable.
On that note, keep lamps away from bedding, as stored hay and bedding is super flammable.
Finally, check lamps for frayed wires.
“This is just basic electrical safety, but every time you plug the lamp in, just run your hands the length of the wire to make sure no curious animal nibbled on the wire, and make sure that the connections at both ends – going into the lamp and the plug – and intact.”
A donation wish list for Ferne’s Acres Animal Sanctuary can be found on their website: https://www.fernesacres.ca/donate
