Summary of Fire Safety Initiative Held February 16,2008

By Laura Bentley

The City of Milton Fire Department, Dr. Ken Marcella DVM, and the Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA) sponsored a Fire Safety and Emergency Readiness seminar for the equestrian community this past weekend. Prior to the seminar, all City of Milton fire fighters had the opportunity to halter, handle and learn basic safety measures while in the company of horses. This training has been initiated to enhance communication between horse owners and the City of Milton in an effort to be better prepared for equine emergencies. Milton is home to 13 GHJA training facilities and well over 100 GHJA members. Many equestrians have farms in the area and horse trailers on Milton’s roadways are very common. The dialog during the seminar focused on different emergency scenarios. As a result of this forum, several action items have been noted:

· The City of Milton Fire Department can better serve the horse community if farm owners provide key information such as security gate codes, equine evacuation plans and farm to fire hydrant locations.
· The City of Milton fire Department would like to be provided a contact list of local equine vets and citizen “horse experts”. These contacts could provide advice and/or equipment i.e. horse trailers in the case of an equine emergency.
· The Georgia Hunter Jumper Association will provide an equine sling and training to the City of Milton Fire Department. Halters and lead ropes along with other equine emergency materials will be provided for each fire truck.
· In an effort to continue the dialog between the City of Milton and the equestrian community and to provide further educational opportunities, Laura Bentley has agreed to serve as a liaison between to two groups. Her contact number is 770.355.0502.
In closing, thanks go out to the City of Milton Fire Department for their willingness to take this important “first step”, Dr. Ken Marcella for providing a lecture packed with valuable information and the Georgia Hunter Jumper Association for their commitment to providing a much needed equine sling for this area.

To see video coverage; click here->http://www.cbs46.com/video/15325909/detail.html