Advice needed on Fire Safety in Horse Vet Centre

[muggins]

I have to do a fire safety cert application for a two storey building - offices/staff washing etc at ground floor with more offices at first floor, connected to a single storey agricultural type building which contains stables, treatment rooms, operating surgery, x-ray room etc.

My question is - how can this comply with Fire Regs? If there is a fire when there is a operation on a horse, what would be the protocol? Move the horse on a trolley outside? Not sure how feasible this is, but surely not easy given the weight of the horse.  The opearting area is only separted from the stables by a wall so that the horse can be moved back to a stable after operation.  All rooms open into a common walkway which has large sliding doors into an enclosed outdoor exercise yard.

I have read all the various humorous comments about animal hospitals and the government risk assessment publication, but they arent really much use to me! Can any one point me in the direction of some useful legislation?  

Thanks

[Clevelandfire]

The legislation would be the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety order 2005

Guides available here: - www.firesafetyguides.communities.gov.uk

There is a guide for farm / agricultural premises.

Probably best you read the guides first and then come back with any specific stuff you cant understand. Its difficult to comment because we havent seen the building.

In terms of evacuating the horse. That would be difficult. Sounds cruel to say but I think in such circumstances priority would be for the vet and staff to evacuate. Unless of course there is some form of motorised equipment which can help move the horse out of the room into the excercise yard.

In hospitals the building is designed with something called "fire compartmentation" whereby the operating theatres and wards etc are heavily fire protected with fire resisting walls floors doors and ceilings. An affected operating thetre would be evacuated if threatened by fire with provision made for fire protected access to an unaffected operating theatre elsewhere in the hospital.

But this would be over the top in your scenario because it is nowhere near as big as a hospital. Its diofficult to comment without seeing the building, but the guides should help you - try them first and then come back with any queries.

[slubberdegullion]

Have to agree with what Clevelandfire says really.  When we talk about life safety we're talking about human life safety.  

Now I'm not a great horse lover, they're scary enough at the front end, I don't even like to think about what could happen at the back end.  But I do suspect that they're actually more intelligent than us poor humans, they're just content with their lot, unlike humans.  Look up the land of the Houyhnhnms in Gulliver's Travels.

But Fire safety does not stop with human safety, it is more and more expanding to address issues with property protection, business protection and so on.  This case is unusual but one of the main aims of the fire risk assessment in this building has to be the protection of the animals.

I can't say what the fire risk assessment should include to make the building as safe as possible for the 'clients' - to be able to say that a survey would have to be carried out.  But the sort of things that should be done would be to minimise the chances of a fire happening in the first place, separating with fire resisting structure the operating room from other parts of the stable (certainly, anywhere where there is an abundance of straw or hay), possibly ensuring that there is a suitably large and accessible alternative exit from the operating room directly to another compartment or at least to the outside.  

On balance I think the main efforts should be directed to reducing the chances of the operating area ever becoming affected by fire.

Stu

[John Webb]

It may be worth contacting the Royal Veterinary College at North Mimms, a few miles down the road from me. They have extensive ranges of animal treatment areas, including operating theatres for everything from small domestic pets to horses and cattle. I am sure they've been down the same road themselves. Phone is (01707) 666333.

[yellowjacket]

I have to do a fire safety cert application for a two storey building

Are you located in Ireland by any chance? Where you are will affect your choice of legisation.

[muggins]

thanks for the replies - and yes, I am in Ireland, so unfortunatly it has to be a fire certificate application rather than a risk assessment....

[yellowjacket]

Ok, so then as you're probably aware, the legislation you are seeking to demonstrate compliance with is Part B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 2006. From the point of view of the Building Regs, compliance with B1 (Means of escape in case of fire) applies to people rather than animals, therefore once the means of escape for human occupants are adequate, you're covered.

Given that some of the equine clients may have a monetary value considerably in excess of the building itself, as well as natural humanitarian concerns, it would be advisable to design in some usable means of escape for the unwell nag, such as a door wide enough to slide a horse through. I'm not sure if the equivalent of a patent slide sheet exists for horses, or if their operations are usually carried out with them on the ground or a trolley, but as was suggested above, you could speak to some veterinary hospitals dealing with these issues for advice, there's one in UCD, for example.

Again, as said above, look at having the operating room as a separate compartment, isolate areas of higher fire risk, and hopefully this will reduce the risk of such an evacuation of the operating room ever being necessary.

[muggins]

you're a big fan of horses by the sound of it!

[jokar]

An unwell nag, Its bad enough when my wife moans hen she is well, I couldn't stand the thought of it if she was unwell.

[william5]

Harry Paviour wrote the CLG guide on fire precautions in equestrian/agricultural buildings and is the fire safety adviser to the British Horse Society.
Harry works out of the Fire Service College (usually Wednesdays). Give him a ring,you will find him very knowledgable on the topic. His numbers are: 01608 651116 or 01608 650831. e-mail: hpaviour@fireservicecollege.ac.uk