Being a rural community, being prepared and practicing grain bin safety is a major component and Monmouth Firefighter Tyler Osborn reminds farmers and everyone in the agricultural sector of being safe when working with and around grain bins:
“In 2023 there was an increase of entrapments by 45 percent in the state of Illinois and that is due to void spaces in the grain and farmers walking on it and things like that. We also want to make sure they are aware that decaying grain can displace the oxygen in a bin, so there can be a lack of oxygen or flammable or toxic fumes inside that. Then making sure that covers and floor grates that are suppose to be in place are in place. Anytime they enter a bin we want to make sure they de-energize augurs and fans and stuff like that. We don’t want the grain moving when they are in there. Always let people know when they are getting inside of a bin so that they can be aware that is someone has not been in contact with them recently. Probably the biggest thing for us is that, if they can get a hold of harnesses and some sort of rope they can secure to the outside, so if there was some sort of collapse inside that we can get directly to them rather than having to search for them.”
The Monmouth Fire Department periodically holds grain bin safety classes for their firefighters and surrounding volunteer departments, which they would like to eventually open up for farmers to attend for increased awareness.
