Handling grain can be hazardous, especially when it comes to grain bins, explains Monmouth Fire Chief Casey Rexroat:
“It is almost like a quick sand situation. When you get stuck in that grain inside there, the more you move around, the faster you are going to sink into that grain. There are a whole bunch of different hazards involved there; you have a confined space, you have somebody stuck in the grain, and the grain bin usually is somewhat full if they are trapped inside of it and so you have a hazard with cutting the sides of the grain bin, which can cause kind of a dust explosion. You have to be very aware of all these different hazards when you are going in to rescue somebody like that. On top of all that, most of the time you access the grain bin from the top, so you have a high angle situation now with the rope. Lot of different hazards. Lot of things to watch out for and time is of the essence in that situation to get them out of there and get them to the hospital.”
The Monmouth Fire Department will be hosting a Grain Bin Rescue Training in August. More details will be made available at a later date.
