Bennet Fire & Rescue to receive grain bin rescue training and equipment

Since 2014, the Grain Bin Safety Campaign has awarded 265 rescue tubes across 31 states to first responders.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN)- In the 20 years Fire Chief Tim Norris has been with Bennet Fire and Rescue, never have they had the necessary equipment to perform a grain bin rescue.

Grain is often described as quick sand. If the proper training and equipment isn’t being used during a rescue, it could lead to tragedy.

“Grain is always moving and if you don’t isolate that person from the grain, they are just going to keep sinking and sinking and sinking,” Norris said.

Now, the team of 21 will be better equipped and trained come August. That’s when they will be receiving free hands-on training and a grain bin rescue tube from a nationwide grant.

Since 2014, the Grain Bin Safety Campaign has awarded 265 rescue tubes across 31 states to first responders. The Bennet community knows how much of an impact this is going to have on their village.

“If somebody was to get in engulfed in grain, I mean it’s going to affect everybody’s emotions and how they view the Coop and the Coop itself,” Frontier Cooperative Employee, Cory Haupt said.

There is still a lot of other equipment Bennet Fire and Rescue needs that is not included in the grant, so they have reached out to the Farmer’s Coop to see if they can help out.

“We are stepping our game,” Norris said. “We are working hard to getting new equipment and getting better trained, so we can use the equipment to help in a time in need.”

This equipment will not only be helping out Bennet, but the communities around them. A lot of grain bin rescues happen in rural areas and Cory is well aware of how dangerous they are.

“It’s a timely process that has to be done quickly to get that person out of there safely, without asphyxiating him,” Haupt said.

The free hands-on 6 hour training is expected to happen sometime in August, where the team will learn what it is like to potentially save someone’s life.