OSU FST provides grain bin safety training

Friday, April 28, 2017

OSU’s Fire Service Training (FST), in conjunction with the Division of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (DASNR) received a grant to educate and train firefighters and agriculture personnel on grain bin safety and extraction.

The organizations received close to $800,000 from the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program.

The need for a training program became apparent after the death of Fire Chief Nolan Schmidt in Hydro, OK.

“It’s just so sad when a fire chief dies and we just have to say ‘we didn’t know what to do,’” says Carol Jones, biosystems engineering professor. “That’s just not acceptable in Oklahoma; our standards are higher than that.”

The training is provided at no cost to participants, as long as the grant is active. Participants will learn the hazards associated with grain bins, equipment necessary to have on-site, when to enter or not enter a grain bin and what to do if a person becomes entrapped in the grain.

Grain bin safety training is currently ongoing. Part of the grant money was allocated for the creation of a demonstration trailer. This will allow FST and DASNR members to travel anywhere in the contiguous United States to provide on-site, hands-on training.

For more information on the trainings offered by FST, watch this video.