Fire Agency Adopts Large Animal Rescue Guidelines

The guidelines cover recommended practices for animal rescues, equipment used in such situations, and more.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Firefighters who respond to horse-related emergencies have a new tool now that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has adopted guidelines for carrying out large animal rescues. The guidelines are designed to ensure the safety of animals and humans during rescues, said Rebecca Gimenez, PhD, president and primary instructor of Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue.

In December 2013, the NFPA—an international organization that provides codes, standards, training, and education for firefighters and other responders—adopted the "1670 Standard," which includes guidelines specifically addressing animal rescues. It is the first time such guidelines have been included in an NFPA standard, Gimenez said.

Gimenez said the guidelines cover, in part, recommended practices for emergency animal rescues and equipment used in such situations. Without specific guidelines, she said, some fire jurisdictions responded to emergencies involving horses and other animals without understanding how to carry out such rescues in the safest way possible for the animals and people involved.

John Haven, director of the University of Florida Veterinary School and chairman of the committee that wrote the guidelines, said the NFPA sanction might also help fire departments get funding they need for animal emergency-related training

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
315 votes · 315 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!