By ANN ALLEN
Indiana Correspondent

CLAYPOOL, Ind. — “Don’t enter a grain bin alone” – those words echoed throughout a March 16 grain storage rescue training session at Louis Dreyfus Commodities’ Claypool plant.

Attending the French-based conglomerate’s second safety day were customers, employees and members of area fire departments. Hammering home the safety message was Steve Wettschurack, a certified farm accident rescue instructor from Purdue University. He spent the morning discussing grain storage rescue techniques and safety equipment, as well as conducting hands-on demonstrations.

Wettschurack’s statistics were sobering, including: A human body takes up only three bushels of space in a grain bin.

“Farmers think they have one gene in their body that makes them invincible,” he said. “They don’t. A flowing column of grain will pull a person to knee-level in seconds. There is no way the person can extricate himself; within 60 seconds, he will be completely engulfed.”

While most victims suffocate, some have been buried for hours and rescued safely by trained responders. Others have been killed by inept volunteers who attempted to drop a rope to the victim and drag him to the top. “You’ll pull him in two by doing that,” Wettschurack pointed out.
A graphic created by Scott Whitman showed the strength needed to rescue a 165-pound person trapped in grain: At waist level it requires 325 pounds; by the time the person is submerged under two feet of grain, it takes 1,500 pounds to rescue them.

Reiterating that the best rescue is one that never happens, Wettschurack said 45 percent of known entrapments involve corn. Crusted corn can be especially dangerous.

His demonstrations included cutting V-shaped openings on opposite sides of a bin to allow grain to flow onto the ground.  “Don’t cut through a seam or any bolts,” he cautioned, “and don’t be alarmed by a farmer who doesn’t want his bin damaged. A new panel will cost $200. A life is irreplaceable.”
To the firefighters and first responders, he said, “When you’re at the scene, the bin is yours; it’s your responsibility to rescue the person trapped.” He cautioned, however, that the consequences of cutting corrugated steel bins or tanks larger than 20,000 bushels in capacity are unknown.

He demonstrated two types of tubes that can be pushed or pounded into the grain to surround the victim and give them space.

Both consist of four panels that easily slip together. Another device, a simple piece of plywood cut shoulder-height and containing openings for the user’s hands, can be used as a grain-retaining tool to give the victim space. Both the tubes and the board require a vacuum to remove the excess corn.

“If the bin is yours, stop and think what you’re doing and do it safely,” Wettschurack said. “If you’re trying to rescue someone, do it safely. Don’t do either of them alone.”