Manitoba is one step closer to establishing a farm building code that would apply to new structures larger than 600 sq. metres.
However, animal rights groups remain concerned that the code won’t apply to existing hog barns, and engineers aren’t convinced the process to develop the new codes was open and transparent.
“Bringing old hog barns up to snuff, I think, is a huge political thing that they (the government) want to avoid,” said Ron Britton, associate dean of design engineering at the University of Manitoba.
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“My concern is that there is a need (to develop a farm building code) and my concern is the expertise that’s necessary to define that need isn’t really a part of what I’ve seen happening,”
In late January, Manitoba fire commissioner Chris Jones submitted recommendations for a farm building code to provincial labour and immigration minister Jennifer Howard.
The provincial government passed legislation last spring to develop a farm building code in Manitoba, partly in response to a rash of hog barn fires in the province in 2008.
Shortly after the legislation was passed, the Office of the Fire Commissioner issued a discussion paper on the regulation of farm buildings to solicit input and begin the process of developing the codes.
The discussion paper had called for public meetings, but Winnipeg engineer Frank Roberts said they never happened.
“They were going to have meetings in a few locations, including Brandon … but as far as I know those were never held,” said Roberts, chair of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba’s safety committee.
Association representatives never met with the fire commissioner, he added.
The fire commissioner was not available for an interview last week to confirm that the public meetings didn’t take place.
A spokesperson for the provincial labour and immigration department said in an e-mail that the Office of the Fire Commissioner conducted extensive consultations with agricultural stakeholders and that the process allowed for feedback from all interested parties in Manitoba.
Another government spokesperson said it’s unlikely the minister or fire commissioner would be available for comment until the province reviews the commissioner’s recommendations.
Roberts said the engineers association submitted a letter commenting on the discussion paper. It took issue with the discussion paper’s recommendations and options section, in which the Office of the Fire Commissioner suggests that all farm buildings be classified as low or medium industrial hazard.
“Even in an agricultural setting, there are lots of hazardous materials … and the storage has to be dealt with under the code,” Roberts said.
Certain farm buildings should be classified as high hazard, he added.
The Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals also expressed concern about the proposed classifications.
In a letter, the Toronto-based animal welfare group urged Manitoba’s fire commissioner to classify hog barns as medium industrial hazard, which would require new hog barns to meet standards such as four-hour firewalls separating buildings, a sprinkler system for buildings larger than 1,000 sq. metres and an emergency plan.
The coalition also wants fire alarm systems and sprinklers in all buildings with 50 or more animals.
However, coalition spokesperson Stephanie Brown said its primary concern is that the proposed codes won’t apply to existing hog barns.
“It think it just makes sense that you cover existing and future buildings,” said Brown, who travelled to Manitoba last July to share her views with the fire commissioner.
Britton, a professor of design engineering who has argued for decades that a farm building code needs to be established, said the cost of applying codes to existing structures would be immense.
“The economic implications to the farm are staggering,” he said.
More work is needed to better understand what causes barn fires and how to prevent them, he added.
“I’m not sure anyone really knows the source of those fires,” he said. “The old hog barn is sort of pushed aside in order to avoid trying to solve a problem.”
