10 Maryland Fire Departments Win Life-Saving Grain Rescue Tube Equipment

DAVIDSONVILLE, MD – Grain bins play a pivotal role in agriculture, offering secure storage and protection for large amounts of grain before sale or processing. However, these structures can present serious hazards – including entrapment, suffocation, and even death.

Thanks to the nominations of local Marylanders, 10 Maryland Fire Departments have won grain bin rescue equipment through Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety advocacy campaign. In addition, 2 Maryland Fire Departments will receive retraining on grain bin rescues. Maryland Farm Bureau (MDFB), a dedicated partner of Nationwide, played a pivotal role in facilitating this program with a generous donation and a nomination process organized through local county Farm Bureau chapters.

Winners of Rescue Tubes from Maryland:

  • Anne Arundel County Fire & EMS Department (Anne Arundel)
  • Cobb Island Volunteer Fire & EMS Department (Charles)
  • Easton Volunteer Fire Department (Talbot)
  • Hereford Volunteer Fire Company (Baltimore County)
  • Laytonsville District Volunteer Fire Department (Montgomery)
  • Linkwood-Salem Volunteer Fire Company (Dorchester)
  • Marion Fire Department (Somerset)
  • Oakland Volunteer Fire Department (Garrett)
  • Reisterstown Fire Department (Baltimore County)
  • Singerly Fire Company (Cecil)

Winners of Retraining:

  • Funkstown Volunteer Fire Company (Washington)
  • Goodwill Fire Company (Queen Anne’s)

The training is led by the Director of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) Dan Neenan. The hands-on component consists of a state-of-the-art grain entrapment simulator loaded on a 20-foot trailer and able to hold 100 bushels of grain. Attending EMS and fire department personnel practice proper lock out/tag out and extrication procedures for both a fully engulfed and partially engulfed victim.

“Maryland Farm Bureau is committed to the safety of our state’s food producers,” said Parker Welch, Executive Director of MDFB. “We are thrilled to team up with our partners at Nationwide to equip our courageous first responders with the training and resources necessary to prevent these tragedies.”

According to the 2022 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities, more than 300 grain entrapments have been recorded in the past decade. In 2021, at least 29 grain entrapments were reported, resulting in 11 fatalities. Every February, MDFB celebrates National Grain Bin Safety Week to bring awareness to the dangers that grain bins can pose when safety measures are not enforced.

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