Firefighters in rural America have a new tool at their disposal that is making farms across the country safer.
First responders in Clay City, Indiana just received a grain bin rescue auger that will facilitate faster, easier retrieval of people should they fall into a grain bin.
The auger attaches to a rescue tube that dops around a stuck person and pulls grain off and away from the person, often allowing them to take full breaths again.
Many rural towns are like Clay City, who was using a 5-gallon shop vac to do the same job.
The auger is operated by a cordless drill, for which the department has several batteries.
This tool is vital after last year saw grain bin entrapments reach a record number.
“I’ve been in one grain bin rescue, and at the time didn’t have any of this equipment,” said Keith Grassick, president of the Clay City fire department. “With this equipment, it would have been much easier and gone much quicker. … Having this is a great asset to our department.”
The area around Clay City saw tragedy after an 18-year-old died after falling into a grain bin.
Kurt Phegly, Duke Energy spokesperson told The Tribune-Star “Falling into grain isn’t so different from quicksand in that rescue is dependent on time and having the right equipment. Hopefully, they never have to use this equipment, but if they do they’ll have it available and the training available to deploy.”