By: Donovan W. Mann – donovanm@977thebolt.com
Lu Verne, IA – A Local rural fire department will be receiving a piece of specialized equipment to help save lives in the community.
The Lu Verne Fire Department has been awarded a grain rescue tube from the Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety Campaign. Announced via a press release this life-saving tube can be used to help prevent grain bin entrapments in rural communities. Lu Verne is one of 41 fire departments to be award a rescue tube this year.
Every year grain farmer will enter bins to remove clumps of rotted grain. This action can quickly result in a grain entrapment or when a farmer sinks to their waist in slowing grain. The tube is designed to provide rescue crews an easy and quick way to free someone trapped in grain.
The initiative is a partnership between Nationwide and the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety. In 2014, Nationwide initiated the Grain Bin Safety advocacy campaign to educate those entering grain bins. A center piece to this campaign was for local farmers to nominate their fire department to receive specialized resources.
Since the program first started in 2014, 152 fire departments have been award and trained to use the rescue tubes. This year there was 1,006 nomination and 41 were reward, including the department in Lu Vurne.