We’re happy to hear this good news from Wyanet, Illinois last week after a farmer was successfully rescued from a grain bin. According to Bureau County Republican, the man had been stuck in soybeans for about three hours Wednesday evening before first responders were called to the scene.
After Wyanet Fire and Rescue assessed the scene, it was determined that the Princeton Fire Department needed to be brought in to assist with a special tube used specifically for grain bin rescues. A grain vacuum from Michlig Grain was also used to suck beans out of the bin to relieve the amount of grain around the victim.
It took nearly two hours before the rescue units were finally able to lift the man up and out of the bin. The man was then taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
There were 60 confirmed grain bin entrapments and incidents in other confined spaces on U.S. farms in 2016, according to Purdue University. That’s a 27 percent increase from 2015, and Purdue estimates that an additional 30 percent of cases go unreported each year.
Since 2014, Nationwide has awarded grain bin rescue tubes and training to 48 fire departments in 18 states. The Westphalia Fire Department in Kansas and the Glenville Fire Department in Minnesota have both put their tubes and training to action — saving the lives of farmers trapped in grain bins.
