A grant from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) is providing the eight fire and rescue departments in Cass County with supplemental grain bin rescue tools. Stacie Euken, President of the Cass County Farm Bureau, says the County Farm Bureau Board applied for the grant from the IFBF to purchase grain bin augers and drills to run the augers, to aid in the rescue of persons trapped in grain bins.

All of the fire departments in Cass County are already equipped with lightweight grain bin rescue tubes, constructed to fit around the victim trapped in grain. The tubes are designed to stop the flow of the grain toward the victim, while at the same time relieving the pressure grain may place on the victim by rescuers attempting to save them.  The rescue auger is designed to quickly remove grain from around the victim while they are in the rescue tube. It’s powered by a one-half inch cordless drill.

Grain bin rescue auger (red device in the center) & a type of rescue tube (on the right). (Photo from the IA Farm Bureau.com website)

A normal grain bin rescue takes about three and one-half hours. In December, 2015, a 39-year old Creston man died in a grain bin, west of Murray. Iowa is one of two states with the highest number of documented grain entrapment incidents, according to a 2013 report by Purdue University in Indiana, which is the other state with the highest number of incidents.

There were four grain entrapment incidents in Iowa last year. Nationwide, there were 38 documented grain entrapments resulting in 17 deaths in 2014, up from 33 entrapments and 13 deaths in 2013. From 2000 to 2010, 17 Iowans died after being trapped in grain, according to the University of Iowa College of Public Health.

The nearly $9,000 IFBF grant will pay for the augers and drills, which are being provided by Cappel’s Ace Hardware in Atlantic, and the Anita Supply Company. Fire department representatives will receive their Rescue Auger and drills during a ceremony Monday evening at the Iowa Farm Bureau Office, in Atlantic.