Burke County Extension
Fire Safety
Water extinguisher is a must for haying and harvesting equipment.
County Agent News
Dan Folske
August 9, 2010
Fire Safety
Ripening crops, harvest activities, drying hayfields, and hot weather mean increasing fire danger. Our activities and preparations at home and in the field can make a huge difference in the outcome of a fire. A water filled fire extinguisher is a must for haying and harvesting equipment. Available from most fire departments for about $120 these refillable, air pressure operated fire extinguishers can save a combine or baler when carried on the machine where they can be quickly accessed and used. A simple spade can also be used to smother or bury a small fire before it becomes a big fire. Wetting down grass or stubble before using a welder or torch in the field can be time well spent. Even a little 2 gallon pump up hand sprayer can extinguish a lot of fire if used at the right time.
Mowing grass around buildings can provide a fire break. Even if the mowed grass is brown and dry it still provides an area where fire will move slowly and can be easily extinguished. Watering lawns around a house to keep them green may seem to some people a waste of water resources but that green lawn may save your house in the case of a fast moving grass fire.
Don’t wait to call 911 and get the fire department coming if you have a fire. The time lost trying to fight a fire yourself and then calling 911 after it is completely out of control can make a huge difference in the final outcome. Most firemen will tell you the best fire calls are the ones which are out by the time they get there but the worst calls are the ones where someone has been badly injured or killed trying to put out a fire themselves, before or after calling the fire department! Your safety is more important than that field or baler, or combine!
Keep your sprayer nurse tanks full of water and ready to go. Local fire departments really appreciate your showing up with an extra 1000 or 1500 gallons of water. Even 500 gallons at the right time can make a huge difference.
Everyone wants to know what’s happening when they hear the fire siren or see a big cloud of smoke, but please, don’t run into the street to see where the trucks are going, or drive to see where the fire is and how big it is. If you are standing in the street watching that truck head out of town there may be another one coming behind you! And when you drive out to a fire as a spectator it makes it more difficult for fire trucks and water trucks arriving or departing the scene.
Be carefull and have a safe harvest!
