GRAIN BIN CAN KILL IN 90 SECONDS

GRAIN BIN CAN KILL IN 90 SECONDS – Twenty six victims died in grain bins in 2010, a record.  The University of Missouri Extension Fire and Rescue Training Institute (MU FRTI) will showcase grain bin safety at the Missouri State Fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Mathewson Exhibition Center in the blacksmith area. FRTI and MU Extension Farm Safety and Health will offer hands-on educational activities and demonstrations, said interim FRTI director Kevin Zumwalt. FRTI instructors will show how to prevent grain bin engulfment, explain how emergency responders work and demonstrate the equipment they use. Fairgoers can experience the effects of grain entrapment and learn ways to get out of a grain bin. MU FRTI operates a grain engulfment simulator that provides realistic, hands-on training for first responders. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security/FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grants program provided funds for the simulator. “Missouri has a high percentage of agricultural activity associated with grain production,” said MU Extension health and safety specialist Karen Funkenbusch. “The activities around and within the grain bins have the potential for entrapment or engulfment that can result in serious injury or death, especially for children.” Watch this potentially life-saving video at youtu.be/n0cLGwqUXkI.

Funkenbusch urges farm families that cannot attend the fair this year to watch a short video on grain bin safety from MU Extension at youtu.be/n0cLGwqUXkI. She also recommends a video from the Missouri Department of Labor at youtu.be/KKozPwkGQ08.

Photo available for this release: https://extensiondata.missouri.edu/NewsAdmin/Photos/stock/FRTI/GrainRescueFRTI.jpg.MU Extension’s Fire and Rescue Training Institute will showcase grain engulfment safety at the Missouri State Fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Mathewson Exhibition Center in the blacksmith area. MU Extension offers numerous hands-on exhibits in the Agriculture Building throughout the fair. MU FRTI file photo.

Video available for this release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz0NwB-1BdQ.Video news story on MU FRTI grain bin rescue training (2015).

For more than 100 years, University of Missouri Extension has extended university-based knowledge beyond the campus into all counties of the state. In doing so, extension has strengthened families, businesses and communities.