Eastern Iowa Farmer Spring 2021

grain bin safety
Eastern Iowa Farmer photo / contributed
Bob Petersen manages a smile after spending an hour
and a half waist deep in corn in August after trying to
clear something that got stuck in the auger screen of a
grain bin. He went to the hospital to be checked out but
was “just fine,” his wife, Margie Petersen, said.
hard to imagine the weight of the
grain.
“I couldn’t move,” Bob said.
“The pressure wasn’t that great, but
I couldn’t move. Even when they
cleared past my knees, I couldn’t get
my feet out.”
As time ticked on, the dangers of
medical complications increased,
specifically of blood clots or compartment
syndrome (when pressure
builds up in muscle groups), from
the grain packed around Bob’s legs.
“We have to get you out of there
in a timely manner,” Chad said.
As a fire chief trained in grain bin
rescues, he knew it was time to call
for help.
“I’ve been a volunteer since
1990,” Chad said. “I’ve seen a lot,
so I’m not as emotional as some.”
Even in trouble, it can be hard to
ask for help.
“I don’t care what you think,”
Chad recalled saying on the day of
his dad’s rescue. “You’re not going
to get out of here without proper
equipment.”
Once firefighters arrived, they
clamped together and pounded down
a barrier around Bob. With less grain
around his body, the corn was easily
removed, with no ill effects to Bob.
“We’re lucky it didn’t damage his
legs with the pressure,” Margie said.
Rescue equipment
Helping his dad wasn’t Chad’s
first grain bin rescue as he is a longtime
firefighter and chief of the New
Liberty fire department.
More than 15 years ago, he was
called to a rescue near Sunbury,
Iowa.
“All I could see was the guy’s
hat,” he said.
Without the benefit of today’s
equipment, responders had to cut a
hole in the side of the bin to quickly
drain the grain.
“Yeah, the guy lived to be pissed
at me for cutting a hole in the side
of his grain bin,” Chad said with a
laugh.
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24 Eastern Iowa Farmer | Spring 2021 eifarmer.com