Laurinburg Fire Department now equipped to make grain bin, silo rescues

LAURINBURG — Every minute counts when someone is stuck in a grain bin or silo. It’s a greater risk than one would think for Scotland County grain farmers, according to Laurinburg Fire Chief Jordan McQueen.

“We have had a couple (of incidents) in Scotland where people have fell in grain bins while working,” McQueen said. “Especially this time of year. It’s harvest season. They’re getting corn in the fields and beans and they’re putting them in the silos.

In the past, the Laurinburg Fire Department has had to reach out to departments in Fayetteville for an emergency involving workers being stuck in a grain bin, according to Javier Carranza, the Safety Manager for Hog Production at Smithfield Foods.

“Imagine being inside a silo with thousands of tons of feed, trapped,” Carranza said. “You don’t want to hear that. You don’t want to hear that it’s going take two or three hours.”

Thanks to Smithfield Foods, the Laurinburg Fire Department now has the capability to reduce grain bin or silo rescue times significantly with the donation of the Great Wall of Rescue, a specialty rescuing equipment. Typically priced upward of $3,000, the Great Wall of Rescue was presented Thursday to the fire department at the Smithfield Foods’ Hog Production Division facility in Laurinburg.

“We certainly hope we never have to use them in our locations but know that it’s an unfortunate issue that happens … We think that this tool will be very valuable for the rescue teams if ever someone gets trapped in one of those grain silos,” said Cesar Menendez, the director of Feed Manufacturing and Bakery Plants Operations for Smithfield Foods.

The Great Wall of Rescue can be aligned to form a wall, a tube, or other irregular shape around the entrapped victim. Once inserted around the victim, it will stop the flow of stored/free-flowing grain toward the victim and block any additional pressure that may be created from rescuers. At this point rescuers will be able to start removing the grain around the victim, inside the tube.

McQueen said this type of equipment can potentially save lives in Scotland County.

“It’s a great tool and it’s very expensive and they were able to obtain this and donate it to us so we can keep it here that way we’ll have access to it for Scotland County,” McQueen said.

Smithfield leaders discovered the need for this type of equipment a year ago when interacting with farmers. One farmer, not in Scotland County, lost an employee after they fell into a silo while trying to clean the side of it, Carranza said. The farmer said had the local fire department or rescue squad been equipped with the Great Wall of Rescue, that life could have been saved.

“He said why don’t we donate this across the country to multiple fire departments,” Carranza said. “It’s not something you hear every day but when you hear it, that someone got trapped inside of a silo, you wish that you had that available to be able to save the life of the person.”

Carranza thanked local first responders for their support and assistance at their facilities.

“The doors are always open if there is anything they need that we can do for them,” he said.