First responders from more than 30 agencies and five states trained on ag-related emergencies Friday and Saturday at the Farmersville/Jackson Township Park and the Leis farm on Venus Road. The event was the result of a year-long partnership between Kettering-based Crash Course Village and Montgomery County Farm Bureau.
“The events we are training for are low frequency but high risk, largely fatal,” said Eric Hagemeyer, a captain in the Kettering Fire Department and also a Montgomery County Farm Bureau trustee. “We have a number of great agencies represented here and this event has been a huge success.”
The training focused on key agriculture emergency scenarios, including:
Grain bin rescue, addressing one of the most complex and time-sensitive agricultural emergencies.
Manure Handling Emergencies
Focus on hazards associated with manure pits, lagoons, and handling systems, including atmospheric risks and access challenges.Heavy Tractor Entrapment / Pinning
Address stabilization, lifting, and disentanglement challenges involving large agricultural machinery, emphasizing load control and scene management.PTO / Auger Entanglement
Concentrate on entrapment mechanisms, lockout/tagout procedures, patient access, and coordinated rescue operations around powered farm equipment.Large animal rescue operations
Animal behavior and responder safety, scene control and coordination with animal owners and veterinarians.
Randy Leis hosted the grain bin rescue training at his farm on Venus Road.
Grandchildren Logan, Parker and Brooks helped with the rescue demonstrations.
Howell Rescue Systems president Spencer Howell said that the agriculture training is important for first responders. “They need to keep practicing and training here, rather than at an actual rescue. Then, when you are on an actual call, you can be dialed in and ready.”
This was the first event of its kind by Crash Course Village, a non-profit training arm of Howell Rescue Systems, makers of rescue equipment and extrication tools. Farm Bureau members received a discount on the training, and the organization provided the farm equipment, live animals, and working grain bins to help create real-life ag emergency scenarios.
Montgomery County Farm Bureau organization director Christy Montoya leveraged connections to develop the relationship with Crash Course Village and worked for a year to build this event. “We wanted to find another group that’s as passionate about training and safety as we are about agriculture,” she noted.
First responders from West Virginia, Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky and Ohio participated in the event. Nationwide Insurance and Farm Bureau have made grain bin safety a priority, providing rescue equipment to first responders throughout the state, including Germantown. The Farmersville Fire Association also has grain bin rescue equipment they received from a grant.
Ag-related training will continue in this region. As part of its River District redevelopment, the City of West Carrollton announced earlier in March that Crash Course Village and Howell Rescue Systems will create Rescue World, a $4.6 million first responder training center. Local Montgomery County Farm Bureau officials are working on options to place a grain bin at the site. The new facility will draw approximately 2,200 first responders annually, according to a story in the Dayton Daily News.
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