First responders train for grain engulfment rescues
GIRARD, Kan. — Some local first responders participated in a unique training exercise, today.
It’s grain engulfment rescue training – offered by the University of Kansas Fire and Training Institute – at the Girard Fire Department.
It simulates a situation of rescuing a person entrapped in a grain bin.
Several individuals volunteered to be trapped in a much smaller grain bin – while first responders used special equipment to get them out as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Training directors say it only takes four to seven minutes for a person to be completely engulfed in grain – and 92 percent of victims do not survive.
A normal rescue can normally take between three to four hours to get the victim out safely.
“Depends on the size of equipment or what gets opened or what happens – but it can be as fast as a blink of the eye to, you know, 30 seconds or a minute – but oftentimes, it happens so fast that people aren’t able to get out before it becomes a problem,” said Clint Hornberger, Kansas Fire & Rescue Training Institute Instructor.
Hornberger says when working around a grain bin, it’s best to work with someone else – so they can stop the machine and stop you from becoming fully engulfed.
He says if you are trapped in a grain bin – don’t make large movements, take small steps to try and move yourself more upward.
