Reading Time: 5 minutes An Ontario insurance company is trying to stop barn fires before they start by subsidizing the installation of technology that monitors wiring systems for faults. The sensor-based early warning system is part of a unique collaboration between Trillium Mutual Insurance and PrevTech Innovation. Why it matters: Barn fires create more than a financial loss. They […] Read more
Tag Archives fire
Technology monitors high-risk barn wiring to help stop barn fires
A project by Trillium Mutual Insurance aims to get 100 monitoring devices installed on farms in a year
‘Lightning siege’ sparks wildfires across California wine country
Almost 11,000 strikes reported over 72 hours
Reading Time: 2 minutes Vacaville, California | Reuters — Lightning strikes sparked dozens of wildfires in northern California’s wine country on Wednesday, burning dozens of structures and forcing thousands to flee their homes. California was hit by nearly 11,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours, sparking 367 fires, nearly two dozen of them major, as the state suffered a record […] Read more
Wingham abattoir destroyed by fire
Green's Meat Market has for years provided meat processing for farmers serving local markets
Reading Time: < 1 minute An abattoir serving northern Huron and southern Bruce counties has been destroyed by fire, leaving area farmers with fewer meat processing options. Green’s Meat Market and Abattoir, in Wingham, had about 70 carcasses hanging for processing at the time of the fire, according to Midwestern Newspapers. A passerby noticed flames coming from the building at […] Read more
New tools aid farm fire prevention
Automated tracking and new fire extinguishing technology could reduce barn fires
Reading Time: 4 minutes New electrical fault detection and fire extinguishing technologies are giving farmers new options to prevent fires. Alarm systems and other technology designed to prevent or extinguish fires have had limited availability for on-farm use. Why it matters: Farms, especially barns, are becoming more valuable so fires have become more costly. Two new technologies recently introduced […] Read more
Canada to cut speed limits for trains hauling dangerous goods
New curb follows another Saskatchewan crash, fire
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — The federal government said Thursday it would impose temporary speed limits on trains hauling dangerous goods after a Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) crude oil train derailed and caught fire. The accident, which happened in the early hours of Thursday near Guernsey, Sask., about 40 km south of Humboldt, was the second […] Read more
Ford recalls Super Duty pickups on post-crash fire risk
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Friday it would recall 547,538 of its Ford Super Duty pickup trucks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, citing the risk of a post-crash interior fire. The second-largest U.S. automaker said the recall covers certain models between the years 2017 and 2019 with carpet flooring that could experience a […] Read more
Regular barn inspection critical to electrical fire prevention
Any exposed electrical connection is an area with fire risk
Reading Time: 3 minutes All it takes is one spark — fire can happen anywhere and anytime on a farm. While the cause can be difficult to confirm, firefighters, inspectors and insurance companies agree, electrical issues top the list as one of the leading causes of fires on farms. “I’ve seen all kinds of electrical hazards and my rule […] Read more
Mechanical issues often cause of grain dryer fires
Preventive maintenance can help reduce risk of loss of grain — and equipment — due to fire
Reading Time: 4 minutes When it comes to reducing the risk of on-farm fires, maintenance and prevention are a farmer’s best defence. Dave McEachren, a Glencoe, Ont., grain farmer, who is also a volunteer firefighter and captain of the Southwest Middlesex Fire Department, confirms the leading causes of fire and calls to emergency services due to fires in grain […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures limit down again on Tyson fire
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures plunged to multiyear lows on Tuesday, with some contract months for both live cattle and fed cattle ending at their daily trading limits for the second day in a row. Traders said the market continued to weigh the impact of a fire at a key […] Read more
B.C. grants late AgriStability enrolment for 2018
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fire, flooding and a drop in raspberry prices in 2018 have spurred the federal and British Columbia governments to trigger the AgriStability late-participation mechanism. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her provincial counterpart Lana Popham, at an event Monday in Vernon, B.C., invoked the new late-participation rule for the 2018 AgriStability program year, “to help farmers […] Read more
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