The Rural Fire Departments in Beulah and Mott recently received potentially life-saving grain bin rescue equipment and training through a donation from Farm Credit Services of Mandan.
Farm Credit donated a 10-panel system manufactured by Minnesota-based Outstate Data. The equipment is designed by rescuers specifically for grain bin entrapments. “We have had 14 successful saves with this equipment,” said Craig Berg, head trainer for Outstate Data.
Firefighters from Beulah and Hazen attended Berg’s training session at the Valley Grain Milling in Beulah “ We have gone to grain bin trainings in the past, but this was hands down, the best and most informative training we have seen,” said Sean Cheatley, training officer for the Beulah Fire Department.
Even as the overall rate of serious injuries and fatalities on farm has fallen, the number of grain bin entrapments remains steady, in part because the country’s high grain production and volatile markets has led to more bins that require more workers and movement of grain.
Firefighters from Mott attended Berg’s training session in the street with grain trucks outside the fire department “The hands-on training was excellent, the equipment is great and we really appreciate Farm Credit’s commitment to our community, ” said Troy Mosbrucker, fire chief for the Mott Fire Department.
Beulah and Mott are the two rural volunteer fire departments to receive grain bin rescue equipment and training this year as part of Farm Credit Services of Mandan’s 27th Annual Harvest Days.
“Supporting the rural fire departments that protect our farmers and ranchers is one way we can make a difference in the rural communities we serve,” said Aaron Vetter, CEO Farm Credit Services of Mandan. “We offer risk management products to protect their way of life but the critical element is the rural volunteers who protect their lives and facilities in an emergency,” he added.
