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Firefighters rescue man from grain bin (not a "corn silo") near Swisher

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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SWISHER — Cedar Rapids and Swisher firefighters rescued a man Thursday afternoon who was trapped in a corn grain silo north of Swisher.

Firefighters were called to the farm on Tharp Road SW where a man was trapped up to his chest. He’d stepped in a cavity that gave way and sucked him downward, according to a Cedar Rapids Fire Department Facebook post.




Cedar Rapids and the Jefferson-Monroe (Swisher) firefighters used specialized isolation panels to isolate the man and keep him from sinking further into the grain.

They removed the grain trapping the man, with help from the Cedar Rapids Public Works Department that sent large vacuum trucks to move the corn.

Firefighters cut a hole in the side of the silo to help the man get out.

The man — who was not identified — was taken to a hospital for treatment.

 
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In my experience, pretty much everywhere but the U.S and some parts of Canada refers to any large grain storage facility as a silo.
 
Drove by that yesterday afternoon as the rescue trucks arrived, just off 965 south of Wright Bros. Blvd. I remember thinking...no fire? Then there was an overturned grain semi at the intersection of 6th St SW (965) and Wright Bros.

Hopefully he's going to be OK. And yeah, dangerous stuff.

Busy day around those parts yesterday.
 
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Silos are primarily used for silage storage. Since I was a kid we always referred to the other storage structures as grain bins since they hold grain, not silage.
This is also how I would use those terms. I’m just saying in pretty much the rest of the world they refer to grain storage facilities as silos. So the author of the article really wasn’t wrong.
 
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So he stepped directly onto the grain?
Generally how these accidents happen is the grain in these bins ‘bridge’, i.e. it’s stops flowing through the bottom trap when they’re emptying the bin. The person who enters the bin isn’t wearing proper harnesses and when they dislodge the grain either from the side or the top they get pulled down into the stream of grain. In my experience most of these incidents happen on the farm and not at a grain elevator. Farmers are generally more lax when it comes to safety compared to grain buying facilities.
 
Generally how these accidents happen is the grain in these bins ‘bridge’, i.e. it’s stops flowing through the bottom trap when they’re emptying the bin. The person who enters the bin isn’t wearing proper harnesses and when they dislodge the grain either from the side or the top they get pulled down into the stream of grain. In my experience most of these incidents happen on the farm and not at a grain elevator. Farmers are generally more lax when it comes to safety compared to grain buying facilities.
Had this very thing happen to me while checking a bin of oats in the cupalo of an old corn crib when I was about 12 or 13...gotta admit that I thought I was gonna die.
 
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