Ontario recorded 125 barn fires with total damages of just over $77.5 million in 2024, according to the most current statistics from the Ontario Fire Marshal Office. Half the time the cause of the fire is never determined.
The number of barn fires was up from the 113 fires in 2023. The losses in 2024 averaged just over $620,000 per fire.
Livestock barns accounted for 41 of the fires in 2024, with damages averaging just over $1.231 million per barn. Equipment and produce barns accounted for 84 of the fires and damages were just over $322,000 per barn.
Barn fire fatalities continue to be rare: One human life was lost in 2024. The was the first barn fire fatality since 2017 when the body of a 77-year-old woman was found in a barn fire, on Zanders Road, just southwest of Pembroke.
Three people were injured in Ontario barn fires in 2024. One person was injured in 2023.
The cause of barn fires between 2020 and 2024 was not determined in 51 % of cases. Arson is rare and was judged the possible cause in only 2 % of barn fires in the five years from 2020 to 2024.
The top most likely causes of barn fires were:
1. Electrical or mechanical failure: 16.6 %
2. Improper handling or storage of material that caught fire: 10.2 %
3. Deficiency in barn design, construction or maintenance: 4 %
4. Vandalism: 0.6 %
5. Children playing: 0.5 %