A 16 year old working at Hankins Grain got trapped in a grain bin Monday morning (January 29) at that location (South Second Street). He was buried to his chest. Fire and Rescue arrived on scene and began working to free the young man while the mother looked on nervously. He was trapped for over two hours.
Once on scene, the Clinton Fire Department employed what is known as the “great wall.” The equipment is simple in principle (explanation below) but a game changer for these types of rescues. The biggest challenge is getting the victim free before the immense weight and pressure of the grain crushes the person trapped. Much like quicksand, once immersed far enough it is nearly impossible to free one’s self.
The “great wall” equipment consists of several sections of “wall” about the height of a person and a few feet wide each which are pushed down around the victim enclosing them in a sort of box. A hand drill with an auger attached is then used to pull out the grain from around the person trapped within that “box” while the “walls” prevent more grain from spilling in and allow the rescue of the person trapped.
This is the second time Ladder Truck 1, purchased with the Fire Tax, has been vital in this type of rescue. In fact, the first deployment of Ladder 1 was to pull a man from a collapsed trench a few years back (a construction accident off Vansant Road).
Time is what the rescue team was up against Monday. The trapped young man in this case was able to be freed in a little over two hours. But the weight of the grain on him was starting to take its toll. A wave of relief washed over Fire Chief Mark Manuel and Assistant Chief Matt Willing’s faces when the rescue team in the bin relayed back that, although the young man was experiencing numbness in his legs, he could wiggle his toes. Chief Manuel was even more relieved when the rescue team was able to remove enough grain from around the young man for him to breathe more freely. There were two firemen in the dark silo and multiple fire rescue personnel on the bin - including Chief Manuel who frequently climbed the bin to direct and assist operations.
There are a lot of grain bins in Henry County and the Fire Department was lucky to have recently trained using the new equipment. The training allowed the key members of the Fire Rescue team to be up to speed on how to free the young man. And, thankfully, they were successful. Grain bin accidents such as these are often fatal.
It was reported the accident occurred while the young man was cleaning out the grain bin; since the victim is a minor (approximate age 16) no details about him can be released.
The “great wall” equipment CFD employed was recently obtained by grants and partially from community donations; one of the donors was Hankins Grain.
On a side note, one of the firemen on ground expressed relief that the event had taken place right before shift change which allowed more men to be immediately available. The Clinton Fire Department (and Police Department) have experienced staff shortages which could have dire implications in instances like these and Chief Manuel has been adamant that the shift shortages need to be addressed. They have been unable to hire more personnel because it is fiscally improbable.
To that end a 1/2 cent sales tax (Public Safety Tax) was recently given the green light by the Clinton City Council to appear on the April ballot this year. The hope is that Clinton voters will understand the urgency and position of the Clinton Fire and Police departments and approve the means for them to hire more personnel.
