Less than three months after the stable at the Classy Lane Training Centre were destroyed by fire, killing dozens of horses, rebuilding is almost complete.
Ken Parke, a maintenance worker at the facility, says May 1 is the target date for completion of the rebuild.
“It was a little bit somber at first, but I have to give the people involved a lot of credit – they just put their heads down and went right back to work,” he said in an interview.
A total of 43 racehorses were killed by the Jan. 5 fire at the Puslinch stable.
Fire investigators said that determining the cause of the fire was a difficult task, in part due to the amount of damage the fire dealt to the barn.
Jason Benn, Puslinch’s chief fire prevention officer, said Thursday that the Office of the Fire Marshal was putting the finishing touches on its report into the fire, and should be in a position to release it within the next week.
“We have our speculations (as to the cause), but unfortunately we cannot say anything until the report is released,” he said.
As with many barns, the one that burned at Classy Lane did not have a sprinkler system or other significant firefighting tools.
According to Parke, the rebuilt stable will include better smoke alarms, with each barn featuring a siren and strobe light.
A sprinkler system is also likely to be purchased – although it will be used for offices in the barn structure, rather than the space where the horses are kept.
Parke says a sprinkler system for the horse barn is difficult to find – and unlikely to be effective in the event of another fire.
“My bosses aren’t afraid to spend the money, if it will work – but they have not been shown that it will do us any good,” he said.
One of the concerns, Parke said, is that if the sprinklers ever activated accidentally, they could startle the horses, creating a potentially dangerous panic situation.
Benn says he’s happy with the plans he’s seen for the rebuild, particularly the addition of a sprinkler system for the office and service spaces.
“By having that, it would compartmentalize the fire, should it happen, in those areas … and stop it from spreading to the animal areas of the barn,” he said.
He agreed that sprinklers “just won’t work” for most barns housing animals, and said he hoped Classy Lane’s action would spur action along the same lines from the owners of similar properties.
An online fundraiser for people affected by the fire reached more than $650,000 in donations – an outpouring of support Parke described as “a little overwhelming.”
The Classy Lane fire also sparked more awareness of barn fires in the public consciousness .
According to Benn, there were 150 barn fires in all of Ontario last year – a number he compared to the 186 recorded in 2008 to show that the raise in awareness isn’t the same thing as an increase in the actual number of fires.
Benn says he’s also seen more farmers proactively asking for fire inspections of their barns since the Classy Lane fire.
“I think that’s a great thing, having that information there and making sure their barns are safer,” he said.
