Device to aid Cloverdale FD in grain rescues

Ron Smith of the Cloverdale Township Fire Department, Ethan Taylor of the Cloverdale Township Fire Department and A&A Fire Department, Ed Bratt of A&A Fire Department worked together to rescue Cameron Collins of A&A Fire Department, who was engulfed in nearly 188 bushels of grain.

CLOVERDALE --As summer begins comes to a close, it is almost that time when grain elevators begin to see quite a bit of action.

To prepare for this, the Cloverdale Township Fire Department participated in a special training session on Saturday afternoon for firefighters to learn how to use a ResQ Tube for someone engulfed in grain.

The session was hosted by Bill Harp of the Safety and Technical Rescue Association (SATRA).

Established in 1990, SATRA is a non-profit organization that provides training and support for local, state and international search and rescue teams.

The fire department was recently awarded a ResQ Tube, which was donated by Norv Gottula and the Cloverdale Agri-Center. It is currently the only device of its kind in Putnam County and will be used to help if a person were to get stuck in a grain bin.

The portable ResQ Tube is broken up into four pieces that latch together to help relieve the pressure on a victim who may be engulfed in grain.

"We hope to never have to use it," Cloverdale Fire Chief Kerry Shepherd said. "It's real simple. It's just an aluminum tube that snaps together to take the pressure off the victim's chest."

Firefighters from Clover-dale, Roachdale and A&A of Morgan County spent their afternoon taking turns being submerged in corn while three others helped to put the ResQ Tube together to safely get the victim out.

It can take less than 20 seconds to become completely submerged in grain, and according to SATRA, 92 percent of those trapped do not survive.

Devices like the ResQ Tube aim to lower that figure.

"Remove the grain from the victim," explained SATRA CEO Bill Harp. "Not the victim from the grain. You're supposed to purge the grain off of them, not unload it beneath them."

Although, it is everyone's hope to never have to use this new ResQ Tube, the fire departments set aside several hours to make sure they are properly trained in case of an emergency.