Mock grain bin and wagon mounted on truck bed

Staff report

VIENNA

The first product of the Air Force Community Partnership Initiative at Youngstown Air Reserve Station was training for first responders on rescuing individuals trapped in grain bins.

The potentially life-saving training, which requires a large covered area with high ceilings, took place recently in the 910th Airlift Wing’s Hangar 305 at the air reserve station for firefighters, emergency medical technicians and others.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, along with the Ohio Fire Marshal’s office and Ohio State University Extension Services, coordinated the training attended by about 50 first responders, including 14 from the 910th Civil Engineer Fire Department here. Deerfield Farms donated the corn used in the training.

The Ohio Fire Academy provided its Grain Comprehensive Agricultural Rescue Training platform, mounted on the bed of a large truck. The Grain CART, which features a mock grain silo and wagon, was designed and built by students of OSU’s engineering program.

“We’ve been working for a couple years to put together this grain-bin rescue training,” said David Costantino, an employer management supervisor with the BWC’s Youngstown office.

This training is important, particularly in agricultural areas, because, in 2010, 51 people were trapped in storage bins in the United States — 26 of whom died. Between 2001 and 2010, 14 Ohioans died as result of grain handling or storage facilities, Costantino said.

As part of the training, a first responder from each training group stood in the silo while the silo was filled with dried corn up to the simulated victim’s chest.

Firefighters constructed a round modular metal cylinder around the trapped victim to prevent the corn from coming back onto the victim while the grain inside the cylinder is removed using a heavy-duty vacuum and drill-powered auger freeing the victim.

The training also included classroom instruction and demonstrations of various rescue devices, officials said.

The Air Force Community Partnership Initiative is designed to identify and develop mutually beneficial partnerships between Air Force installations and surrounding communities.

“The aim is to leverage the intellectual capital, resources and entrepreneurial spirit of our installation and community to improve cost effective operations and quality-of-life programs,” said Col. James Dignan, 910th commander.

The 910th is one of 17 wings in the Air Force and the first of only two wings across the Air Force Reserve participating in the AFCPI program.