Five-year-old Sean Hudson Corum was having fun on his uncle’s farm one day in June 2018. That June day, his fun turned to tragedy when he got caught in a grain auger as it was being emptied.
Carla, his mother, now shares her tragic story to encourage first responders and farmers across rural America to get the training they need to execute a grain bin rescue and save lives.
“Life is before and after,” said Carla Hudson Corum, Sean’s mother. “In that time frame, it will always be June 2, 2018.”
The Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads held training for rescue squads, which included classroom instruction about what to do and what not to do and hands-on training in a truck filled with corn.
“The rescue tube, putting it around someone is the easy part,” explains the instructor, Brian Robinson. “The hard part is not making it any worse for the victim or the responder getting in the bin. If they don’t understand, they themselves can become entrapped and make things worse.”
It only takes about 20 seconds for a person to become completely engulfed in corn or soybeans, so every second counts when it comes to getting that person out. This training is invaluable for fire and rescue volunteers like farmer Dayton Hudson of Arrington, Tenn.
“It’s very easy to make this problem worse, and we could become the victim,” he told RFD-TV New’s own Tammi Arender. “They want us to rescue, so giving us more tools to put in a toolbox to effectively and safely start a rescue.”
There is now more on-farm grain storage than the yearly average as farmers wait for commodity prices to rebound, increasing the risk of grain bin accidents. That is why it is more important than ever for these first responders and producers to get the needed training.
Carla Corum also advocates for greater access to mental health training. She says counseling and her faith in God helped her through.
“Our faith in God helps, and there are questions that will never be answered -- and hoping that we will see him again is helpful,” Carla said, sharing this wisdom from experience. “Counseling; friends that you’re able to talk to about that; and being able to help others in grief, in child-loss, and work with these guys and other first responders. It helps the grieving process to move forward.”
Nearly every state holds grain bin safety training. Check with your county extension office or state farm bureau to find a training near you.
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