Grain bin safety is a very serious subject and bins are a big threat on the farm but there is a new tool being used for rescues across the country which were being demonstrated at the Great Jones County Fair:
They are grain rescue tubes, 6 panels each weighing 25 pounds that slide together from the top down from the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety:
Several celebrities were buried up to their waist and then rescued with these tubes, including Iowa Secretary of Ag Mike Naig and State Representative Lee Hein:
After they turned the auger on, it only took 10 seconds for Rep. Hein to be buried up to his waist:
Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta was another of the celebrities to be buried:
You see how the tube is put together and pushed downward in the grain. Then, the grain is augered out of the inside of the tube and the trapped person can step up and out:
34 of these tubes were given away across the country last week as part of Grain Bin Safety Week with the National Education Center for Agricultural Center, and you can learn more here.