By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent OXFORD, Ohio — To most farmers in Butler County, Ohio, having a farm is a viable way to make a living. To emergency medical services (EMS), fire department and other rescue personnel, a farm is an accident waiting to happen.
Last year there were 780 deaths and 140,000 disability injuries on the nation’s farms. For this reason, many rescue personnel from southwestern Ohio gathered for the annual Agricultural and Rural Emergencies and Extrication Program. Learning the proper rescue and recovery methods was the goal for those attending this two-day event.
“Accidents happen quickly on a farm and usually the person is by themselves,” said Reily Township Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Conrad. “Time is of the essence.
“We see it all the time – bush hog accidents, tractor rollovers, cars striking farm equipment on the road, manure pit accidents – farming is a dangerous occupation.”
According to the National Safety Council, mining is the most dangerous occupation, with 24.3 deaths per 100,000 workers, but farming is next in line, with 22 deaths per 100,000 workers.
EMS and fire and rescue personnel rotated among seven rescue stations, learning how to assist farmers who have been hurt during such mishaps. Accidents happen as frequently to veteran farmers as to new ones.
“The more familiar one is with equipment, the more chances that person takes, knowing well risks shouldn’t be taken,” said Len Endress, Oxford Fire Chief. “Farmers just assume things will happen the way they’ve happened in the past.”
According to Ohio Extension Specialist Steve Bartels, there has been one farm-related death in Butler County alone every two years for the past 35 years. Three years ago, a young child was crushed by a tractor tire.
“We’re seeing a lot of new five- and six-acre plots in the country and these people will buy a medium-sized tractor, and those are just as deadly as the bigger ones,” Conrad said.
Safety and rescue personnel studied rescue techniques involving augers, heavy tires, combine mishaps, tractor rollovers, manure pits, entangled animals and even anhydrous ammonia.
“We’ve found numerous portable meth(amphetamine) labs along creek beds in the area,” Conrad said. “A lot of these drug users will go to a farmer’s drive and set up a lab in the creek line. They’ll make a batch of meth right there and leave the dangerous materials by the creek.”
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the top five farming-related accidents involve transportation, equipment contact and objects, harmful substances, falls and explosions (or fire).
This farm news was published in the April 16, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
