A team of local firefighters is coached through a simulated rescue during the Jan. 27 training and are pictured from left, Shaun Beck of Holyoke VFD, John Sagehorn of Amherst VFD and Lance Murray of HVFD. Sagehorn is pictured inside a metal rescue tube, which was fitted around him to allow Murray to remove the synthetic grain trapping Sagehorn’s legs. — The Holyoke Enterprise | Johnson Publications
Lead instructor Tim Zehnder, and Gabe Hubbard and Phil Wirges of HVFD are pictured from left lowering a dummy, representing a victim of a grain bin accident, to the ground with ropes and a litter at the second station of Sunday’s rescue training. — The Holyoke Enterprise | Johnson Publications
Firefighters get gritty in grain bin training
Rescue agencies from across northeast Colorado gathered in Holyoke last weekend, Jan. 26-27, for a training on grain bin rescue techniques put on by Mid-Plains Community College of North Platte, Nebraska.
After falling into a grain bin, a victim can find him or herself engulfed by flowing grain in seconds. Even if a person isn’t completely buried, pressure on the limbs and torso can lead to injury or death.
Instructor Chris Moore stressed that having a properly trained and equipped rescue team is essential to pulling people out alive.
“You don’t want to make a bad situation worse by falling in yourself,” he said.
Lead instructor Tim Zehnder said about 50 cases of people falling into grain bins are reported in the U.S. every year and that over half of all cases are fatal.
He added that the growing size of bins and their increasing popularity on small farms means the chances of operators falling in has never been higher.
Each day, a morning classroom training at the Bank of Colorado Pavilion covered equipment and the rescue process, and a lunch course offered by AirLife Denver reviewed some of the medical dangers of grain entrapment.
A hands-on training in the afternoon, also in the pavilion, covered pulling out victims engulfed by grain in two stages — first, by sucking out the grain trapping their limbs, and second by pulling them out of the bin with ropes and a litter.
Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department attended the training Sunday, Jan. 27, after hosting a meeting of the Northeast Colorado Firefighters Association on Saturday.
Phillips County Emergency Manager Bob Heldenbrand estimated that 30 students attended each day of the training, which was offered at no cost thanks to sponsorships by Northeast Colorado All-Hazards Region, CHS, Jack’s Bean Company and Paoli Farmers Co-op. Also offering in-kind donations were Phillips and Yuma counties.