Local VFDs Win Grain Rescue Equipment

(Photo and news release courtesy of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.)

Nationwide Insurance has awarded two St. Mary’s County volunteer fire departments with grain rescue tubes and hands-on training to prepare them to respond when local grain entrapments occur.

Grain bin accidents send shockwaves through rural communities as farmers and grain handlers know all too well how quickly entering a grain bin can turn deadly. To help prevent these accidents that result in dozens of lives lost each year, Nationwide is providing life-saving resources to rural America’s first responders.

In partnership with the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, Nationwide awarded 58 fire departments across the country with the equipment including the Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department, with thanks to donations from Maryland Grain Producers, and the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department, brought to the community thanks to donations from Colonial Farm Credit.

After receiving more than 1,800 nominations across 45 states in the annual Nominate Your Fire Department Contest, a key piece of Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety advocacy campaign, the insurer and its partners are proud to make the donations.

“We are proud to provide first responders the education and resources to lead the fight against local grain bin entrapments,” said Brad Liggett, president of Agribusiness at Nationwide. “It’s been our mission to bring an end to this industry issue by raising awareness of the dangers and suppling needed equipment to the frontline rescuers tasked with responding when accidents occur.”

NECAS, based out of Peosta, IA, will deliver the rescue tubes and training to the winning fire departments throughout 2022, traveling to each location with state-of-the-art grain entrapment simulators and rescue tubes. The comprehensive training sessions include classroom education and rescue simulations using the entrapment tools, which are loaded onto 20-foot trailers and able to hold about 100 bushels of grain each.

With 2022 donations included, Nationwide and partners have supplied these resources to 265 departments across 31 states. At least five fire departments have utilized their rescue tubes and training to successfully rescue entrapped workers.