To help reduce and prevent grain bin accidents, Nationwide has launched its sixth annual Nominate Your Fire Department Contest in recognition of Grain Bin Safety Week. The goal is to prevent injuries by promoting safe bin-entry procedures, such as maintaining quality grain, testing bin atmosphere for toxic gases and wearing proper safety equipment.

This year, Grain Bin Safety Week is Feb. 17-23 and has been officially recognized by the following states:

"The work that farmers do can often be dangerous," said Brad Liggett, president of Nationwide Agribusiness. "Along with our partners in Grain Bin Safety Week, we're dedicated to helping first responders save lives on farms across the country. That's why we will continue to make the rescue tubes and training available as long as these dangers exist."

Since 2014, Nationwide has awarded grain bin rescue tubes and training to 77 fire departments in 24 states. Nominations for this year's Nominate Your Fire Department Contest are open until April 30.

According to researchers at Purdue University, more than 900 cases of grain engulfment have been reported with a fatality rate of 62% in the past 50 years. In 2010, at least 26 U.S. workers were killed in grain engulfment accidents − the highest number on record.

Training

Nationwide collaborates each year with the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety to provide safety training. The director of NECAS travels to training locations with a state-of-the-art grain entrapment simulator and rescue tube. The comprehensive training sessions include classroom education and a rescue simulation with the entrapment tool, which is loaded onto a 20-foot trailer and able to hold about 100 bushels of grain.

The sobering statistics:

Source: 2015 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities

Source: Nationwide, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.