Minnesota is among the three states with the largest number of cases, along with Iowa and Indiana. ![]() Researchers at Purdue University have been tracking these accidents for decades. Grain can shift, trapping the person, and sometimes suffocating them.Īccording to the state Department of Agriculture, at least eight people died in grain bin accidents last year in Minnesota. When that happens, someone has to enter the bin and break up the chunks. Wet corn can create clumps that make it difficult to load the grain from the bin into trucks when it’s hauled to market. Grain that’s put in a bin while still wet is the most common cause of grain silo accidents, Ekdahl said. We have orders after orders after orders coming in now. The Ekdahls are hearing from fire departments concerned about all the wet corn brought in across the Midwest in the fall, when soggy fields and early snow forced a late harvest. ![]() He and his family have trained first responders from 22 states on how to conduct grain bin rescues. It worked - and Ekdahl now sells the equipment. The smooth metal shields create a barrier that allows rescuers to dig the person out and prevent the grain from covering them. He built a set of curved metal shields about six feet tall that could be inserted into the grain, forming a circle around the trapped person. ![]() Other grain bin rescue gear existed on the market, but Ekdahl worked with the firefighters to make what they considered to be a better system.
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