Rescue Tube coming to Grand Island

A growing number of ethanol plants in Central Nebraska is elevating the demand for more than just corn. It's prompting rescue crews to better prepare for grain entrapment cases.

The Grand Island Fire Department recently asked the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) of Grand Island and Hall County to buy a Rescue Tube.

The tube is a metal device designed specifically for rescuing people who have fallen into grain.

"It's a sectional tube that can go down around the victim," said Grand Island Training Division Chief Troy Hughes.

Four panels, each 60 inches long, fit together in a tongue-and-groove fashion to form a 31-inch diameter tube. Each 25-pound panel can be slid into the corn to form a safe spot for the victim, whom rescuers secure with ropes.

The Rescue Tube acts as a sort of cofferdam to keep more grain from falling and creates a space where the grain can be scooped or vacuumed away from the trapped person, Hughes said.

Hughes said area fire and rescue departments had been using sheets of plywood to shore up grain in entrapment calls, but a Grand Island firefighter who recently attended an entrapment training session learned of the specialty equipment.

The Rescue Tube includes hand holds on the inside of the tube so that a victim could assist with the rescue. It also includes steps on the outside of the tube for rescue personnel.

With numerous grain bins on area farms, plus area ethanol plants including ones in Aurora and another one coming on line in Wood River, Hughes said the timing seemed right to buy the  equipment.

"We have the potential to have more exposure to people working with grain," he said.

The Rescue Tube costs about $3,500, but may see a reduction in price as a new company has taken over manufacturing.

The LEPC met Aug. 7 and authorized the purchase of one Rescue Tube, which will be kept at Grand Island's Station 3 on Webb Road.

That station has the department's heavy rescue equipment and often goes on mutual aid calls.

The Rescue Tube will be available for all area fire departments and quick response teams, Hughes said. It could be used in Grand Island, St. Libory, Aurora, Shelton, Wood River, Doniphan, Cairo or Alda.

The Rescue Tube will be discussed at a Sept. 16 mutual aid department meeting. It should arrive in Grand Island this fall.