Kiran Sood: Reporting from the inside of a grain bin in Vinton

VINTON -Brand new to Iowa, brand new to Cedar Rapids and, as of Thursday night, new to the interior of a grain bin.

As part of my coverage as a business reporter for this newspaper, I was assigned to cover grain bin rescue training for firefighters. I set up the assignment for the evening of June 27.

I was prepared for the hour-long classroom session, followed by hands on training where I could see firefighters take part in a rescue.

After the lecture, we all headed outside to the grain bin. As we made our way there, Dan Neenan, the director of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety asked the group who wanted to be the first "victim" to simulate drowning in the grain.

The idea had been swirling in my head - what better way for me to experience this assignment than to go in myself? But I certainly wasn't going to volunteer myself.

Sure enough, Neenan looked at me and said, "I've heard some unofficial nominations that we put the Gazette reporter in." Before I really had time to think about it, I had agreed.

I was strapped into a harness, a helmet put on my head, and eye protection on, as well. Max Freund, one of The Gazette's interactive-media reporter, strapped a GoPro camera around me to capture video from the victim's perspective once in the bin.

As I climbed up the ladder of the 10-foot high grain bin in my wedge heels, I wondered what I was getting myself into. Once at the top, Neenan instructed me to climb into the bin and walk to the center.

Just walking in was a challenge - the corn was heavy and pulled me down, making each step a challenge.

Once I was in the center, they turned on a device which made me sink into the corn until it was a little bit above my knees. I immediately noticed the weight of the corn around my legs.

The pressure was intense and I could understand the compression feeling I learned about during the seminar. I couldn't imagine being in any farther than I was.

The first rescuer came into the bin by jumping in. With each step he took, I could feel the pressure build around my legs.

When the second rescuer came in, he stepped first on an egg crate that had been set down. By entering this way, I no longer felt each step, which is much better for the victim.

The pair began to assemble the four-piece rescue tube around me. To keep the victim calm and her mind engaged, the two firefighters talked to me through the whole rescue.

They asked me how I was doing and if I was all right.

Initially, I was.

The firefighters assembled piece by piece the bright red four-panel rescue tube around me. It is cylinder-shaped, open at the top and bottom. The tube goes down into the grain around me.

Once the rescue tube is in place, the firefighters put inside a smaller black tube which serves as a vacuum to remove corn from around me. The corn is sucked up through the black tube and sent out of the bin, freeing up space around me and eventually allowing me to get out.

Inside the tube, it was my responsibility to guide the vacuum around me to remove the corn. There was light above my head, but I was too focused on doing my part that I didn't look up.

After what I thought was a decent amount of corn had been removed, the firefighters asked me to try to pull my feet out slowly and climb up on the steps on each side of the interior of the tube.

But the corn was simply too heavy, and I couldn't remove my feet.

That's when I really began to worry and my mind began to race. I was now sweating, even though I was wearing Capris and a short sleeve top.

At this stage, I was ready to get out.

I was hot, scared and beginning to wonder how long it would be before I was out. The firefighters continued to talk to me and keep me engaged by having me suck up more of the corn.

Again, they asked me if I could try to climb out. This time, I was able to reach the bottom steps on the interior of the tube. I had to use my upper-arm strength to pull myself out.

Shaken up, I was thrilled to be back on the ground.

Luckily, this was a controlled environment. If there was ever a time to be trapped in a bin, it was then, surrounded by 30 firefighters and the director of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety.

At the end of the night, this was certainly a story I could write home about.

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Kiran Sood on Twitter @Kiran_Gazette.