Manitoba to introduce farm building code

Manitoba will soon become the first province in Western Canada to legislate a code of standards for farm buildings.The Fire Commissioner’s Office of Manitoba submitted recommendations for a farm building code to labour and immigration minister Jennifer Howard earlier this year.Fire commissioner Chris Jones expects the code will be implemented shortly after the final details are worked out.“We’ve been told to expedite this by the minister,” he said.Farm buildings have always been exempt from codes in Manitoba, but events in 2008 and 2009 convinced provincial officials to adopt standards.First was a sharp increase in the number of hog barn fires in 2008, killing more than 30,000 pigs. Then, in the winter of 2009, a worker died in Portage la Prairie when the roof of a vegetable processing shed collapsed.The new codes will apply to farm structures larger than 600 sq. metres, but only to new buildings.“Codes typically aren’t retroactive,” said Jones, who added other measures have been developed to deal with the risk of fire in existing structures.“What we are doing though, is when we introduce the farm building code, we are going to introduce a fairly strong fire prevention strategy.”He said his office plans to work with rural fire departments and producers to develop fire safety plans on every farm.“Firefighters and fire departments can come out and do the site plan with the farmer to find out where the high hazards are,” he said.“So when we’re doing those fire safety plans… that’s when we will address any of the fire safety issues – alarm notification, egress, general maintenance and that kind of stuff.”Jones said there are ways to bring existing buildings up to code.“The code does allow if there’s a major renovation being undertaken… the whole building will have to comply.”The entire building must meet code if it’s expanded beyond 600 sq. metres. Jones said new and expanded farm buildings that are larger than 600 sq. meters will now fall under a different code.“We’ve classified these buildings as what we call F2 and F3 – industrial occupancies.”Will Tern, a director of the Canadian Farm Builders Association, said codes are needed to keep up with the reality of the modern farm.“The farming industry has changed. The buildings have become bigger and far more complex,” said Teron, an engineer with Tacoma Engineers in Guelph, Ont.“These (hog) barns are now highly complex structures…. The building really just encloses a process.”However, he fears Manitoba may be going too far by classifying large farm buildings as industrial structures.“In some circumstances it’s too onerous. We feel there’s a healthy medium in between, where there are some exemptions and modifications for farm buildings.”Teron said an example of a healthy medium is Ontario’s approach, where the province follows the National Farm Building Code.“National codes are a reference document because building is a provincial jurisdiction,” Teron said.The national code makes specific allowances for agricultural structures, he added.However, Teron understands why Manitoba is devising its own codes because the National Farm Building Code was written in 1995 and is out of date.“In Manitoba, with the absence of an updated National Farm Building Code, they went to call it a full blown industrial building.”Jim Zyta, vice-president of loss prevention for North Waterloo Farmers Mutual in Ontario, said Manitoba’s proposed codes aren’t perfect but are progress.“Maybe it gives some response time for the fire department before it (a hog barn) is leveled,” he said.“It’s a good measure but you’re still not addressing the cause of the fires,” such as insufficient maintenance of electrical, heating and ventilation equipment in hog barns.“I think that’s where things have to be tightened and improved.”Despite the criticism, Jones believes Manitoba is on the right path.“I believe we’ve taken some really good steps forward. From not having a farm building code to we’re going to have one is a big step,” he said.