In what is fast becoming an annual tradition, agricultural professionals and industry leaders join forces in support of Grain Bin Safety Week, to be held on the 16th to the 22nd of February, 2020.
Gear and Training for First Responders
This year’s celebration will feature a Nominate Your Fire Department Contest, running from the first day of the year all the way to the 30th of April. Grain rescue tubes and life-saving training will be awarded to nominated departments and will be vital in preventing accidents in grain bins and silos. This contest is sponsored by KC Supply, the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, and several other allies in the crusade for safety.
To date, more than 2000 first responders have benefitted from the training and supplies provided by the contest, representing members of fire departments from more than 20 states. The skills and tools were put to good use in 2015 when a man was saved from a grain bin by the Westphalia Fire Department of Kansas.
How To Participate
To nominate your local fire department, simply state in writing how your local fire department and community would benefit from having a grain rescue tube and grain bin entrapment training. Answers can be sent via email to agcontest[at]nicc[dot]edu, or directly to the event website. Answers can also be sent in via physical mail, addressed to NECAS, Grain Bin Safety Ag Contest, 8342 NICC Dr., Peosta, IA 52068.
To be valid, nominators must provide their name, job, contact number, email address, and home address, along with the name, phone number, and address of the emergency rescue team or fire department to be nominated.
To further spread the word about the importance of safety in and around grain bins and silos, promotional materials can be made available upon request. While national statistics for the relative safety of the agricultural profession in general, and grain storage units in particular, seems to be improving, death and serious injury remain real possibilities to be guarded against.