Alabama Rescue Tubes

Reprinted from GRAIN JOURNAL November/December 2019 Issue

Dealona Bozeman had read the entrapment stories, the encounters that can leave a person clinging to life inside a bin as grain breaks free, flows, and surrounds its victim, beginning to suffocate them within seconds.

The fortunate ones keep their heads above the grain. Although in a dire situation with a 50-50 chance of survival, quickly summoned nearby emergency responders can free victims with the right equipment and training.

“I was seeing articles in magazines like Grain Journal and on Facebook, and noticed that there is equipment for entrapment rescue,” said Bozeman, a grain merchandiser for Alabama Farmers Cooperative Inc. (AFC) in Florence, AL. “I had heard very little about them (rescue tubes), but enough to know it was a really good idea. It made sense to me that grain is like quicksand and there’s got to be something to get someone out.”

Bozeman said she asked around, and none of the fire departments in her immediate area of Florence had grain bin rescue tubes or any experience with them. That was about to change with a team effort involving fellow AFC Grain Merchandiser Jack Segrest and Grain Vice President John Gamble.

Dealona Bozeman said she asked around, and none of the fire departments in her immediate area of Florence had grain bin rescue tubes or any experience with them.

Bozeman and Segrest began to think that a grain entrapment rescue demonstration and training, coupled with the donation of a rescue tube to an area fire department, would be a helpful addition to the co-op’s annual expo, which is held each January in Decatur, AL. Bozeman said Segrest “dove in” to the idea and secured the Mississippi Farm Bureau to present the demonstration with a mock grain bin trailer system.

“Dea and I talked and headed it up together. We got to thinking about doing the training. I did my own research and realized, what’s the point of training if they don’t have the equipment to allow them to do the training scenario,” said Segrest. “So we decided to work with agribusinesses in the state and the Alabama Farmers Federation to get the resources to do the training and donate equipment, if something should ever happen where they would need it.”

Segrest said the initial goal was one or two grain rescue tubes, but sponsor support quickly allowed the purchase of six.

Once we thought of this, to provide information on grain bin dangers to farmers, then we thought fire and rescue people would be interested in case something like this should ever happen.

- Jack Segrest, Alabama Farmers Coop

During the expo, farmers and emergency responders were able to witness first hand the value of a grain rescue tube, “The Great Wall of Rescue” and receive training, said Bozeman. KC Supply Co. provided the tubes that were purchased for six participating fire departments through expo sponsorships by Alabama Wheat and Feed Grain Producers, Alabama Feed & Grain Association, First South Farm Credit, Aviagen, Alabama Agribusiness Council, Alabama Farm Credit, and AFC.

“This started as something interesting that we thought the farmers at our expo would appreciate,” said Segrest. “Once we thought of this, to provide information on grain bin dangers to farmers, then we thought fire and rescue people would be interested in case something like this should ever happen.”

Tube, Training Save Three Lives

Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program has documented 1,225 cases of grain entrapment or engulfment between 1962 and 2018 in the United States (www.grainnet.com/2018 entrapments). During this time, 70% of grain entrapments have occurred on farms, which are exempt from Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations and injury reporting requirements, so the numbers likely are much higher, according to Purdue.

In 2018, Purdue tracked 61 agricultural confined-space accidents across the United States. Grain entrapments accounted for 49% of the documented cases, and half of the victims trapped in grain died. Over the past half century, Alabama, which historically has grown more cotton than corn or soybeans, has reported six cases of entrapment, and none in 2018, according to the Purdue research.

Those statistics were put to the test earlier this year when one of the new grain rescue tubes provided during the AFC expo assisted in a grain bin rescue May 22 at a farm in Stevenson, AL.

Scottsboro Fire Department, which received a rescue tube and training, was among several agencies called in to help by the Stevenson Volunteer Fire Department when Jackie Loyd, 76, and his brother, George, 79, became entrapped. According to reports, Jackie had been cleaning out the bin when he as entrapped, and George entered to help. Jackie found himself in grain up to his chin, and George up to his waist. A third worker, who was attempting to help, was trapped above his knees.

Greg Lockard, Scottsboro training/safety officer, said Alabama Fire College had reached out to his department, which covers much of rural Jackson County, about the AFC Expo and training opportunity. He said the rescue tube and training they received helped saved three lives that day at the Loyd farm.

“I had seen it before; I was familiar with the concept and had read about it but had never seen it work,” he said of the grain rescue tube. “We didn’t think we’d ever use it. It’s a big farming community here in Jackson County, but there had not been a report of an entrapment, not as far back as we could go, even talking to the older guys.”

Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program has documented 1,225 cases of grain entrapment or engulfment between 1962 and 2018 in the United States.

He said the Stevenson response involved removing the third man first. Plywood was placed around George to free him. The Great Wall of Rescue was used for Jackie, who had grain up to his mouth, and at one point over his head, by the time Scottsboro firefighters arrived on the scene. The barrier was able to free him enough so he could breathe dust-free air with a self-contained breathing apparatus, like those used by firefighters. Holes were cut into the sides of the bin to release grain, and Jackie was freed. The entire rescue took about three hours.

“If we hadn’t had that (rescue tube), one poor guy would have died, if not more than one,” Lockard said.

It was this incident, Bozeman said, that caused AFC to realize not enough tubes and training were available in the state.

“Initially, I realized that my service area on the opposite end of the state (from Stevenson) needed the tubes,” said Bozeman. “For the vice president of our division, John Gamble, it was just on his heart after (the incident) that we needed to do more. We needed to try our best to find more sponsorships, more hands, to help pull this together and get more tubes in our state.”

Gamble said he has been buying grain from the Loyd farm for more than 40 years. With such a personal connection, and the great fortune of a nearby rescue tube, the idea to do more came quickly, he said.

“After that happened, that really touched me. I thought, ‘We actually contributed to saving lives of our farmers,’” said Gamble. “What we’re trying to do is get as many (rescue tubes) as we can placed strategically to have better access. And what better way to help our farmers. Hopefully, we’ll never need them, but they’ll be available.”

Gamble pointed out that while Alabama, as a major cotton-producing state, historically hasn’t had many reported grain entrapment cases, the need for training and rescue tubes is growing. In the past 10 years, he added, the state has seen more farmers converting their fields to corn and soybeans and building on-site storage in response to better prices.

As a grain merchandiser, Segrest sees this firsthand.

“The more grain bins go up, the more people will have to get in grain bins,” said Segrest. “Jackie has been around grain bins his whole life. They were scooping out a bin, and he happened to drop his shovel and the shovel funneled to the auger. “When he tried to grab it, he ended up trapped in corn up to his chin.”

Program Grows Quickly

Segrest said the program has already grown beyond the expo, and AFC wants to provide tubes and training throughout the year in the areas that cover the most farms across Alabama.

Bozeman said the response from fire departments has been enthusiastic.

“They love the idea of being able to access the equipment, even though there may not be a need for it for years,” she said.

Gamble said during an interview with Grain Journal in early November that they have enough support for five more grain rescue tubes and training for 2020 and hope 10 will be ready when this initial push has concluded.

Segrest said tubes and training will go together. For example, a tube would be placed with a fire and rescue department in an area and nearby departments would come for the training, too.

“The awareness from all this has grown so much. We wanted to help farmers be safe, and it’s just grown from there, and we want to keep it growing,” Segrest said.

To help Alabama Farmers Cooperative Inc. with its grain tube rescue project, contact Dealona Bozeman at 256- 274-2863 or dealob@alafarm.com; or Jack Segrest at 256-308-1620 or jacks@alafarm.com.