Landmark Services Cooperative recently hosted the Madison Fire Department Heavy Urban Rescue Team (HURT) for grain entrapment training at their grain facility in Cottage Grove, Wis.
The training, coordinated by Matt Solymossy, Landmark Services Cooperative’s safety manager and led by Lt. Fredrick of the Madison Fire Department (MFD), consisted of touring the Landmark grain facility and practicing an entrapment rescue of a MFD team member in a grain truck. The rescue teams used the grain rescue tubes also known as coffer dams, which act as a barrier, preventing any other grain from surrounding the victim, and minimizing pressure giving the crew easier removal of the entrapped. The grain rescue tubes were donated in 2012 by Landmark after the MFD trained at Landmark Services Cooperative with Outstate Data, a grain tube designer and manufacturer.
The MFD HURT is comprised of 57 members, divided between three work shifts. They are trained for high angle rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, structural collapse rescue and grain bin rescue. This team is available to respond in the City of Madison and at the request of local fire departments throughout the area for these types of incidents.
“We strive to be as well prepared as possible for these incidents. We learn what we can in a classroom setting, and get our hands dirty in simulations that are as realistic as possible,” says Lt. Fredrick. He continues, “This training is a good example. We don’t have a good facility to practice this kind of thing close to us in the city. The Landmark facility is not so far away. Without this training, there is no good way to prepare for this type of rescue, and we are much better prepared now.”
Employee safety is Landmark’s number one priority so collaborations like these truly benefit both parties. Chrissy Long, a marketing and communication specialist for Landmark, was able to observe the training and commented, “You can tell that by putting themselves in an entrapment situation makes them more aware of the physical and psychological stress that a victim may be in. In an accident situation, the HURT crew will now not only be able to be efficient with the rescue, but also understand what the person is going though.”
