On a cold and windy afternoon last February, Hodgdon dairy farmer Tommy Quint was unloading corn from his silo when it became plugged. Quint went into the silo and quickly became engulfed in corn to his chest.
Fast forward three hours later and a long and uncertain ordeal, Quint was rescued and being treated for hypothermia. In those few hours, the scene of Quint’s farm was transformed into emergency responder central with state police vehicles, multiple fire departments, and concerned neighbors coming together to help and lend support in any way possible. Quint was one of the lucky few survivors of this type of farm accident but his rescue was also attributed to clear thinking and ingenuity on the part of the Hodgdon Fire Department.
The public was able to hear about his experience first-hand recently at a luncheon and fundraiser hosted by the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. The event served as an educational piece for rescue equipment recently acquired by the Littleton Fire Department specifically for grain bins. The rescue tube, as it is known, has wall sections that can be maneuvered and aligned to form a wall, a tube, or other irregular shape depending on the rescue situation.
Hodgdon Assistant Fire Chief Ricky Tidd also spoke about Quint’s rescue and credited the volunteer firefighters with remaining calm and working on various ideas to get him safely out without endangering more people in the process.
In this type of situation, where is tremendous pressure on a person’s body from the grain, requiring over 1,000 pounds of force to free the victim. Equipment like the rescue tube allows for grain to be manually removed from around the person trapped, freeing them from that force and allowing for the rescue to happen.
Littleton Fire Chief Dwight Cowperthwaite researched and purchased the equipment and provided some sobering statistics to those present. He summed up his presentation with one word: safety. Grain silo entrapments are the one area of farming accidents where the statistics have not decreased. Knowledge of the risks and application of safety precautions can go a long way in preventing a near-tragedy like the one Tommy Quint fortunately lived through.
The Littleton Fire Department and SASWCD worked together on the grant proposal through Maine Municipal Association to fund the purchase of the rescue tube. The luncheon also served as a fundraiser for needed accessories, bringing in an additional $860. The rescue tube equipment is available for use and training by other community fire departments and first responders.
Angie Wotton loves her work as district manager for the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. She also raises pastured pork and vegetables with her husband on their small West Berry Farm in Hammond. She can be reached 5329407 or via email at angela.wotton@me.nacdnet.net
