The Versailles Republican Headline News

Pick up a copy of the newspaper at your local newsstand!

UPDATED BY MARIA SIEVERDING JANUARY 12, 2017 11:30 A.M.

Fire departments train on grain bin safety

“My prayer was to train people to use this equipment, but now the prayer is to never have to use it.”
David Osborne, Purdue Extension Educator

Arlene Knudson
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

One of the dangers of farming is getting stuck in a grain bin. Grain can exert 900 pounds of pressure upon a person. Lives can and have been lost in grain bin entrapments. As reported from Purdue University April 29, 2015: “Nationwide, there were 38 documented entrapments resulting in 17 deaths in 2014, compared with 33 entrapments and 13 deaths in 2013, according to Purdue’s annual Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities.” As listed in this report, Indiana had four entrapments.

Firefighters train on grain bin rescue SUBMITTED PHOTO
Firefighters trained on grain bin rescue after Dave Osborne, Purdue Extension Educator, coordinated an ag rescue and recovery event last year. This partnership between area business sponsors and the local fire departments provides the knowledge and training to save lives .

Dave Osborne, Purdue Extension Educator, coordinated an ag rescue and recovery training in early September 2016. This training provided attendees with a better understanding of strategies for preventing and responding to grain-related entrapments. Also covered were primary causes of entrapment, grain storage design and operation, and state of the art rescue strategies. A live demonstration and hands on exercises on extrication techniques, rescue tube extrications, and interior grain bin hazards were conducted. Fire departments have developed plans and strategies to have in place when and if there is an entrapment. Steve Wettschurack provided the training at the Purdue Ag Center located in Butlerville. Ripley County has 11 fire departments and eight of them had representatives at this training.

In addition to training on extication, each department that attended received a rescue tube to be used during entrapments. Each tube cost $1,800. The cost for each of the 28 attendees was $100 each. A bag to store each extraction tube was also delivered to each department for a total cost of $400. This totaled $15,800 to help ensure the safety of those involved in agriculture. The funding came from Purdue and local businesses.

• Delaware Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) was sponsored bu Napoleon State Bank.
• Napoleon VFD was sponsored by Laughery Valley Agriculture
• Milan VFD was sponsored by RJE Fertilizer.
• Versailles VFD was sponsored by Zimmer Tractor.
• Batesville VFD was sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance.
• Morris VFD was sponsored by Menchhofer Seed - Channel Seed and Obermeyer Grain Systems.
• Friendship VFD was sponsored by Laughery Valley Agriculture.
• Osgood VFD was sponsored by Menchhofer Seed.

Menchhofer Seed had purchased the rescue tube for Osgood VFD in 2015, as well as one for Decatur County in 2015. Since this training, Sunman has secured their own sponsorship and now has a plan and a rescue tube. Before this training, Ripley County had one rescue tube available and now there are nine available. Osborne summed up this endeavor like this: “My prayer was to train people to use this equipment but now the prayer is to never have to use it.” Hopefully his prayer will be answered.

Local Bulletin Board

Large rummage sale
COMING EVENT: St. John’s Catholic Church in Osgood will have a rummage sale Thursday, Jan. 26 from 1 – 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 27 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 28 from 8 a.m. until noon. The church is located at 331 S. Buckeye St., Osgood.

Call 812-689-6364 to learn how you can get a free listing in the Coming Events featured in The Versailles Republican.