B3o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 24,1981 BY DEBBIE KOONTZ LANCASTER Most everybody has experienced the feelings a tire can bring it not the sense ot tear and depression caused by the screaming fire engines, the flashing red lights, the loud roar as the building slowly topples to the ground and the shivers running through your body then the feelings of loss and desperation as you stand by the charred ruins afterward. It doesn’t have to be a personal tragedy to experience this depression. It’s almost as it a tire breeds this atmosphere and that any onlookers, whether they knew the owners or not, are meant to suffer. Most often uttered after a disaster such as this is, "What a waste; what a senseless waste.” Unfortunately, these thoughts have credibility in that they usually are true. Most fires could have been prevented with a little care and time. And when we’re talking about safety as compared to complete destruction of a barn used to milk those go cows, or a poultry operation housing 50,000 layers, or even a machinery shed used to hold thousands ot dollars ot machinery wouldn’t a little tune spent ‘cleaning up,’ ‘straightening up,’ and making plans be worth a tew hour’s or even day’s lost time? Dairy farmers, tor instance, have little time to stand by and mourn after the damage is done those cows still have to be milked; that is, it you were able to save them. And though most rural neighbors have an old fashioned ‘close bond’ which would obligate them to milk your cows, it hardly makes up for the inconvenience, loss and work you both suffer from such arrangements. In the end, even with your neighbor’s help, could you and would you rebuild and start all over ? Poultry farmers, among others, have a tear ot grass fires. Ac cording to the Insurance Bulletin published by the United Egg Producers, tire losses to poultry houses in the past 24 months due to •minor’ grass fires resulted to nearly one million dollar’s damage. According to the bulletin, "the grass catches tire trom a stray match or cigarette or even a hot catalytic converter on the un derside ot a truck or car. The grass then burns up to the side ot the poultry house. The metal exterior ot the horse won’t burn, of course; but it the tire gets up close to the wall and there is a small opening which allows it to get into the styrofoam or polyurethane in sulation, the house is an mterno within minutes. You are urged to eliminate grass and weeds for at least a six toot area around your barns." No farm or home is ever com pletely safe trom tire, but a few safeguards could mean the dif ference between safety and total ruin. The most important tire precaution is to have adequate insurance. When it comes to buying insurance to protect yourself and your farm, this is no time to become a penny-pmcher. In the long run, you may lose more than you’ll ever be able to match again. And though you may be the most cautious person in your area, you can’t protect your home when an arsonist decides to strike. According to Bob Yoder trom the Old Guard Mutual insurance Company in/ Lancaster, a "high percentage” ot tires could be at tributed to arsen. "Barns are especially appealing to arsemsts because they will create such a spectabular blaze and the arsemst thinks he won’t be hurting anybody,” Yoder said. "It doesn’t make any difference to the arsemst if the farmer has in surance or not.” To make a barn a little less appealing to an arsemst, Yoder suggests making your barn look "well taken care of and well maintained. A barking dog is always a good idea not necessarily a biting one, but a barking one. Collies are good tor this. Also report any suspicious cars in the area, it unfamiliar people stop and ask strange questions, just jot down their car license number, it may be very helpful later.” Try to make your barn and sheds look the way they should as it they provide a very important role on the farm. Keep them looking raxsnm' PRACTICE Fin PREVENTION Md. holds gypsy moth meeting ANNAPOLIS, Md - The Maryland Department of Agriculture will conduct a site specific Scoping Session relating to a proposed 1982 Cooperative Gypsy Moth Suppression Program in Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Washington and Montgomery Counties. The session will be held at the Baltimore -County Extension clean, new and tunctional. Other preventative measures you can take are: Safeguard your home. You have to live here and whether you believe it or not, that’s more im portant than the cows and the pigs. Keep the attic and the cellar clean and all burnable materials away from the furnace. Next, have your chimney periodically cleaned. Replace worn cords in your work sheds, your house and your barn. They can cause short circuits, which lead to fires. Make sure wiring is done by a certified electrician. install smoke detectors. They’re relatively cheap. Have fire extinguishers handy all over the farm. Learn the differences in types of fires is it a gas lire? an elec trical tire? Can you fight it with water or do you need chemicals? Are they handy ? Don’t store wet hay. Don’t smoke around your barn and don’t be afraid to ask others not to smoke. Make sure lightening rods are grounded. Autumn is a beautiful time of year on any farm keep it that way by making it'as sate as it is beautiful. Service Uftice at 9811 Van Buren Lane, Cockeysville, on Monday, October 26, 1981. It will begin at 12:30 p.m. Persons requiring detailed directions to the site, or more information about the meeting, should call 301-269-2957. Paul G. Bystrak Supervisor, Gypsy Moth Control Maryland Department of * Agriculture. -
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