Mountaire Farms hosting grain engulfment training for first responders and farmers

 

BRIDGEVILLE, Del. – In April, a 66-year-old Bridgeville man’s life was tragically taken after he got trapped in a grain bin. Mountaire Farms hosted a free grain safety and engulfment training for local farmers and first responders.

The opportunity to put officials inside a grain simulator to experience what it feels like to get trapped inside a grain bin.

The workshop was to help ensure a safe and successful harvest season. Grain bin incidents happen in a matter of seconds, and this happens when workers enter the structure to clear clogs or break up crusted grain.

Steven Gilbert, an Assistant Task Force Leader for the Sussex County Technical Rescue Team, said flowing corn or soybeans can act like quicksand and bury a worker in seconds.

“We are going to get them out. It’s not an if, but a when. So we need to make sure they are emotionally working with us.”

Unfortunately, occasionally those incidents can become fatal. Reportedly, two men found themselves trapped in a Bridgeville grain tank in April.

Upon arrival, fire and rescue teams began the removal process. A 20-year-old from Bridgeville managed to survive. However, the second individual, a 66-year-old man, was declared deceased.

William Harp, an instructor for the Safety and Technical Rescue Association, teaches the public for these reasons.

“I have always enjoyed training and passing that on. I was a firefighter in Detroit for 37 years, and I had the luxury of the old guys taking time to teach me, and now that I’m an old guy, I take the time to teach them.”

Director of Mountaire Cares & Stakeholder Affairs, Zach Evans, talks about the goal zero initiative and pushing that forward to the community.

“The chicken farmers and the grain farmers, much of the farm community on Delmarva, are so intertwined here on Delmarva, it doesn’t matter what crop you grow or animal you raise, we are all serving the same mission,” said Evans. “This is the first training we opened up to the public, but it won’t certainly be the last.”

The classroom session covered grain bin hazards and risk awareness, prevention of grain engulfment incidents, and emergency response protocols.

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