CHAMOIS — Seventeen members of the Chamois and Morrison Volunteer Fire Departments, as well as one employee of Chamois Ag Supply, completed Basic Grain Engulfment Rescue training on Saturday, April 13.   

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cautions a person can become engulfed in flowing grain in five seconds, and become fully submerged in 60 seconds, and that more than half of all grain engulfments result in death by suffocation. Other data indicates that over 60% of grain engulfments happen on farms that are exempt from OSHA inspection.

That means knowing what to do and acting quickly are critical in the event of grain engulfment.

The full-day class, offered by the University of Missouri Extension Division Fire and Rescue Training Institute (UM FRTI), “educates Missouri emergency responders on the hazards associated with grain bins and grain entrapments, and provides the necessary knowledge and skills to enable them to safely perform a basic grain engulfment rescue utilizing available resources.”   

Lead Instructor Robert L. Shramek, Jr., and Assistant Instructors Charles B. Wolverton and Bruce A. Parton provided classroom instruction in the morning, followed by practical training in the afternoon, using the university’s mobile grain engulfment rescue simulator. Trainees took turns rescuing each other from engulfment in real grain, as well as performing self-rescue procedures.

“A few of us got buried up to our chest in grain,” said Chamois Fire Protection District Chief Sean Hackmann. “It was a surreal experience.”

The training was conducted at Rosebud Tractor & Equipment in Morrison, Mo., owned by Matt, John, and Betty Estes, and was sponsored by a $4,500 grant from the Missouri Division of Fire Safety — Fire Education/Advisory Commission. Lunch was donated by Mike Nolting, of Chamois Ag Supply, and the classroom area was set up by the Morrison Volunteer Fire Department.

“I want to thank the instructors and all the volunteers that helped make this training a success,” Hackmann said. “This is one of the best classes we’ve ever had around here. I hope we never have to use it, but we are now well-educated if we do.”