by Mike Orso
Several local firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) recently trained to rescue farmers, farmworkers and others who may become engulfed in grain or oilseeds in and outside of bins used for storage.
“This is one way that we can partner with our farming community and take a safer approach to dealing with these types of incidents,” said Tom Linneman, chief of the Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District (HAGFPD). “Hopefully, we never have one, but this piece of equipment we’re getting donated is a great asset to have for our community.”
In recent years, McHenry County Farm Bureau (MCFB) and agribusinesses donated three rescue tubes to area fire departments and districts. MCFB also partnered with Illinois-based COUNTRY Financial to provide rescue augers. As the result of a most recent gift of a so-called “Great Wall of Rescue” tube by Ohio-based Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, firefighters and EMTs from HAGFPD and other jurisdictions such as Fontana, Wis., Harvard, Richmond, Walworth, Wis., and Wonder Lake have now learned how to use the tubes as a wedge between a farmer, farmworker or others entrapped in grain that can lead to death. In early June, about 30 of them trained with a representative of the northeast Iowa-based National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) at the recently renovated HAGFPD headquarters located on Route 173 in Hebron.
“Grain expands and kills off the airways,” said Dan Neenan, director of NECAS, who conducted the training. “But it is not an automatic death sentence.”
Grain like corn and oilseeds such as soybeans can crust over, creating a void from six inches to as much as 30 feet and can quickly entrap and engulf farmers and farmworkers, according to Neenan. Figures revealed at the training session show there have been 27 fatal and non-fatal cases involving agricultural confined spaces across the U.S. so far this year, on pace with 54 reported in all of 2015. Most recently in Illinois, three people became engulfed in a grain bin near Mt. Carmel in the southeast part of the state, resulting in one death.
Local McHenry and Walworth County, Wis. firefighters and EMTs participating in the training session experienced how rapidly someone can become trapped using the NECAS mobile simulator parked inside the HAGFPD station. Harnessed, they then practiced using the “Great Wall” with its sliding, metal sections to surround a victim and using a mini auger to empty the space of grain.
“We have a lot of large grain farms here in our fire district, so this is a great asset to have,” said Linneman. “If a farmer gets trapped in some grain, we can take these slide pieces of metal and place around the farmer and it connects together. We can then use the auger and auger that grain out of there. Otherwise, the grain will keep coming in on the farmer even if we keep shoveling it out.”
Linneman, 43, grew up on a family farm, still lives on one and knows the area well, having spent 27 years so far with the HAGFPD, the last 10 as its chief. He welcomed the rescue tools and the accompanying opportunity for him and other local firefighters and EMTs to train with NECAS on how to use them to save lives.
“It’s great to get this type of equipment. For me, it’s most likely going to be someone I know,” said Linneman. “Usually, these events can have a very critical effect on the family and their livelihood. I hope I never have to use it, but I am very gracious that we have them now and we can increase our chances of having survivability.”
Local firefighters and EMTs from McHenry and Walworth Counties learned about farm safety during an early June training session at the Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District (HAGFPD) headquarters in Hebron. According to northeast Iowa-based National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), grain and oilseeds can behave like quicksand, trapping most people once they rise above their knees. Some area farmers also attended the session.
Lt. Jacob Combs, center, with the HAGFPD, experiences grain entrapment in a simulator supplied by NECAS in early June. Learning how to use the so-called “Great Wall of Rescue” included Madison Kastning and Madison Leaman, also with HAGFPD. (photo by Dan Burow)
HAGFPD firefighters Madison Kastning, Madison Leaman and Leslie Ingersoll take part in a grain safety exercise atop the NECAS grain entrapment and engulfment simulator. NECAS uses it in training sessions all across the United States. (photo by Dan Burow)
Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians listen to Dan Neenan, NECAS director, during a grain entrapment and engulfment rescue training session held in early June. Neenan told the group 2026 is on pace to meet or exceed the record number of fatal and non-fatal cases of reported grain entrapment and engulfment across the United States.