Jason Berkland is upbeat about grain bin rescues. “We had another successful rescue in the last 12 months,” he says. “So we’re up to five through-tubes that have been rewarded to fire departments.”

Berkland is senior assistant vice president of risk management at insurance provider Nationwide. He says there’s still more work to do. “We want to bring awareness to grain bin safety and the hazards of working around grain bins,” he says.

For several years, a Nationwide program has awarded grain bin rescue tubes along with training. In the early days of the program, one fire department a year would receive a tube. In 2021, 50 tubes were awarded, thanks to sponsors. The company usually receives 1,000 nominations yearly.

The number of tubes available for 2022 has not been determined, but a growing list of sponsors is helping to expand the program.

April 30 deadline

To nominate a fire department, fill out the nomination form at grainbinsafetyweek.com by April 30.

Berkland notes the committee reviewing the nominations looks at a lot of factors including whether the fire department already has a grain rescue tube, or if the location of the department is close to another with a tube. The idea is to get more tubes across the country.

But there are some key pieces of information to include when writing that nomination:

Need for tube. Describe how your local fire department or emergency rescue team and community would benefit from grain entrapment training and a rescue tube.

Assistance to others. Discuss how the tube and training could be shared with neighboring departments in need through mutual agreements or other collaborations. This will allow training of more emergency personnel to a larger area.

While fire departments might be able to buy their own grain tubes, Berkland says the free training Nationwide offers is equally important. Its six-hour training course at a winner’s location instructs emergency personnel on safe rescues. “The tube can be more of a detriment if they don’t have the proper training,” he says.

Berkland says Nationwide has partnered with the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, which has two trailers that can be used for demonstrations and training. During the training, a volunteer is engulfed in grain and the trainees go through the rescue process. “It’s all in a controlled atmosphere,” Berkland says. “But they can show the impact of being sucked into grain.”

And while the grain rescue tube giveaway is important, Berkland says there’s a bigger goal: “We want to bring awareness to anybody that’s operating in and around grain bins just to the hazards and how to keep that grain in condition, so no one has to enter the bin,” he adds.

The list of sponsors for the 2022 Grain Bin Safety campaign includes the following: