GLENVILLE, Minn., Sept. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fire Chief
Matt Webb was heading to work when
he heard the 911 call come in over his pager.
It was 9:53 a.m. on Aug. 8. A local farmer had just fallen into a bin
of rotting corn in a small, rural community on the outskirts of the
county. By the time Webb arrived on the scene less than 10 minutes
later, the farmer was engulfed in corn up to his neck.
But thanks to a grain rescue tube and training provided by
Nationwide almost two years earlier, Webb and other first
responders were able to rescue the man in 1 hour and 44
minutes.
"It felt like an eternity," Webb said. "But the (grain rescue)
training came back quickly, and it was a relief we had our own
equipment. The program that's out there for these tubes and
training is such a life-saving resource in our county."
Webb's fire department is one of dozens in some of the country's
top farming communities that have received life-saving grain rescue
tubes and training as part of Nationwide's annual Nominate Your
Fire Department Contest. Another one of those winners — the
Westphalia Fire Department in
Kansas — also used their new
skills in 2015 to rescue a man who had become entrapped in a grain
bin.
"It only takes seconds to become entrapped in grain and less
than a minute to become completely engulfed," said Brad Liggett, president of Nationwide
Agribusiness, the No. 1 farm insurer1. "Once grain is
above knee-level, it is nearly impossible to get out without
assistance. Until we can convince all farmers and other grain
handlers to develop a zero-entry mentality, we will strive to make
tubes and rescue training as widely available as possible."
Since 2014, Nationwide's annual safety contest has awarded tubes
and training to 48 fire departments across 18 states. Now, these
fire departments are well-equipped to help rescue people who may
become entrapped in grain during the normal course of their job. A
record 883 nominations were submitted this year in the fourth
annual contest, and Nationwide chose 16 winners in 10 states with
large rural farming communities:
- Dieterich Fire Protection
District (Illinois)
- Marion Center Volunteer Fire
Department (Pennsylvania)
- Alexandria Volunteer Fire
Company (Pennsylvania)
- Elgin-Beaverdam Hose Company (Pennsylvania)
- Livonia Fire Department
(New York)
- Union Fire Company No. 1 (New
Jersey)
- Bridgeville Volunteer Fire
Company (Delaware)
- Florence Township Fire
Department (Ohio)
- Braymer Volunteer Fire
Department (Missouri)
- Jamestown Rural Fire Protection District (Missouri)
- Jasper Fire Protection District (Missouri)
- Blanchard Township Gilboa Fire Department (Ohio)
- Number One Fire Department (Tennessee)
- New Albin Fire Department
(Iowa)
- Thorp Fire & Ambulance
District (Wisconsin)
- West Burlington Fire
Department (Iowa)
Grain Bin Safety Week 2017 is supported by Nationwide, CHS, West
Side Salvage, Specialty Risk Insurance, ABIS, KC Supply Co., The
Scoular Company, Authur J Gallagher & Co., NOHR Wortmann
Engineering, Heard Insurance Agency, Ruff & Assoc Inc., Triple
M Farms, Sukup, Sump Saver, National Farm Medicine Center and the
National Education Center for Agricultural Safety.
For more information about the program, purpose or nomination
process,
visit www.grainbinsafetyweek.com or watch this video.
Grain Bin Safety Week 2018: February
18-24
About Nationwide
Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and
strongest diversified insurance and financial services
organizations in the U.S. and is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and
Standard & Poor's. The company provides a full range of
insurance and financial services, including auto, commercial,
homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector
retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; banking and
mortgages; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more
information, visit www.nationwide.com.
Nationwide, Nationwide is on your side and the Nationwide N and
Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. ©
2017 Nationwide.
________________________________________
1 Source: 2015 SNL Financial Report. Based on
statutory data.
Contact:
Christopher
Stollar
614-677-5711
stollac1@nationwide.com
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