(Clarksburg, IN) – A local fire department will receive training in grain bin rescues, and a piece of life-saving equipment as part of a program from Nationwide Insurance.
The Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department in Decatur County is one of 66 across the country to receive the awards this year.
Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety Campaign has provided 332 grain bin rescue tubes to first responders across 32 states to help prepare them when local grain entrapments occur since the program was established in 2014.
Nationwide has partnered with the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety in providing fire departments with grain bin rescue tubes and hands-on training, which includes state-of-the-art grain entrapment simulators able to hold about 100 bushels of grain each.
“Grain bin accidents continue to be a critical issue facing the agriculture industry,” said Brad Liggett, president of Agribusiness at Nationwide. “We are proud to have supplied these important resources to 60 more rural fire departments in partnership with the many sponsors involved in our grain bin safety efforts. However, the work will not be complete until we can put a stop to these needless accidents altogether. Thank you to the first responders who play such an important role in supporting the agriculture community.”
Since the Grain Bin Safety campaign began nine years ago, at least seven fire departments across the country have used their rescue tubes and training to successfully rescue entrapped individuals, including the rescue of a worker in Ohio earlier this year.
