Corridor firefighters receive hands-on grain bin rescue training

[HTML1]

VINTON - Justin See grew up on a farm, so he is no stranger to grain bins.

But last Thursday night, See got to see a grain bin from an entirely new perspective - trapped in the center of one up to his knees in corn.

As part of grain bin rescue training, See and thirty area firefighters participated in an hour-long seminar followed by hands on rescue training in a grain bin. Firefighters from departments across many area counties sent men and women to participate in the training seminar at the Vinton Fire Department.

The training session was led by Dan Neenan, director of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety. Neenan told the group agriculture is the most dangerous industry in the United States.

When an auger is running, it takes an average of 30 seconds for someone to become completely submerged in grain. The average extrication from a grain bin by the time the fire department gets on the scene is three and a half hours, See and other firefighters learned.

• Read also: Kiran Sood -- Reporting from the inside of a grain bin

The bin used for training purposes on Thursday contained 190 bushels of corn. A bin on a farm could contain between 30,000 to 60,000 bushels of grain, Neenan said.

There are a number of factors that can influence the success of a grain bin rescue attempt, he said. Among them include the response time; personnel; location of the bin and the presence of a railroad preventing easy access to the bin.

Neenan shared chilling details from a grain bin tragedy in Mount Carroll, Ill. in 2010 that claimed the lives of two teenagers.

"Fourteen-year-old walked across the center of the bin when the auger was running and started getting pulled down," he said. "Sixteen-year-old buddy heard his fourteen-year-old friend calling for help; he went to help; he started getting pulled down. Eighteen-year-old friend was in there as well; he wanted to help, he went in, he started getting pulled down."

The oldest teen got out of the bin and got the auger shut off, Neenan said.

"So in reverse order, the eighteen-year-old was trapped to his neck; they used the grain rescue tool to be able to get him out," Neenan said. "He's living today. He's having some issues, because as they vacuumed down to the bottom of the tube, the sixteen-year-old friend's head was in the tube."

The grain bin where firefighters practiced rescues Thursday was ten feet off the ground and considerably smaller than a normal one. The average grain bin is actually much higher: 25 feet off the ground.

Firefighters split up into groups of three for the exercise. Before going into the grain, See put on a harness, helmet and glasses. Once he was suited up, he made his way up the ladder to get ready to get in the bin.

The other two firefighters were responsible for assembling the bright red rescue tube to save the trapped firefighter. Piece by piece, firefighters assembled the four panels of the tube around the victim.

Then, corn is gradually vacuumed from around the victim through a black tube before the victim can climb out of the larger red rescue tube.

"It's pretty scary," See said once safely back on the ground. "You get in there, they open the thing and you sink down in; you don't know where you're going to stop and you start feeling the pressure tight against you. It's pretty scary being in there."

See participated in grain rescue training for the first time Thursday night. He was asked what surprised him the most about the experience.

"How quick the grain will suck you down in," he said. "It happens quicker than you think; that's what a lot of people don't understand."

[HTML2]

Unfortunately, not all rescues are a success. Roy Becker, a full-time firefighter with the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, knows that firsthand.

Becker, who is also a volunteer firefighter with the Norway and Newhall fire departments, has been part of two grain bin recoveries.

"There's a lot of preparation that goes into it and then once we're on scene, our training plays out and we work together to get the person out and hopefully they survive," said Becker.

So what is one piece of advice Becker would give to farmers regarding grain bin safety?

"Try to stay out of the bin," he said. "If you have to go in the bin, make sure everything is shut down; make sure all the power is shut off to the augers."

Neenan, the education center director, said someone trapped in grain will experience a wide array of emotions.

"The person is going to be very anxious," he said. "It's going to be a strange-type feeling because you can move your hands, but you absolutely cannot move your feet and the more that you wiggle and you try to move, the tighter that grain gets.

"It's kind of like a snake that's wrapping around you and getting tighter and tighter with every move that you make."