Dramatic rescue from Marked Tree grain bin

Dramatic rescue from Marked Tree grain bin

WMFD comes through with life- saving assist

news@theeveningtimes.com

Emergency responders from all around the area converged at Ritter Grain in Marked Tree to rescue two workers trapped in a grain bin Tuesday. The West Memphis Fire Department received a call to aid the Marked Tree Fire Department at 11:45 a.m. By 4:45 p.m., everybody was out of the bin thanks to a coordinated effort at the scene.

Nathan Williams and Craig Beakley, both of Marked Tree, were successfully rescued after more than five hours pinned against the wall in the bottom of the bin. Both were transported to the hospital, one by helicopter and one by ambulance.

Marked Tree Fire Department personnel and Police Chief Jerry Lung had control of the potentially explosive scene as rescue efforts were headed up by the WMFD. Grain dust easily sparks and is highly explosive.

West Memphis Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Jones praised the WMFD’s effort and offered kudos to Mark Tree’s emergency responders for their roll in the rescue.

“I was trying to get resources and they assisted in that,” said Jones. “They got us plywood we needed from a lumber yard. They provided fire protection for us on the scene for our safety. They assisted moving grain, and they landed the helicopter for us.”

Jones acted as liaison and resource manager and assessed the situation. WMFD Lt. Scott Simpson led the rescue operation. The department got the nod because they had confined-space entry training. A safety meeting was held, assignments at the scene made, and a lock-out tag out was placed on the electrical controls to reduce spark hazard.

“When you are cutting in a grain bin one of the concerns is grain dust; it’s explosive,” said Jones.

Marked Tree put hoses in place as four relief holes were cut through the steel sided silos.

When rescuers arrived they found the trapped men pinned near the ground floor door. Grain bins have two set of doors at the floor entry. The inside door is designed to hold grain back in the bin and the other is on the outside wall for entry and exit. The men were stuck in between the doors, buried up to their chest.

“They were standing on about a foot of grain,” said Jones. “All we could see was their heads and just the side of one man’s face.”

The grain had slumped from a peak on one side and slid toward the door. The men had been doing maintenance to the sweeper inside and managed to scramble for the door.

“They made it to the safety doors,” said Jones. “One opens out and one opens in to keep the grain from getting out. They made it to the door and opened that inner door and the grain caved in on them. One was pinned between the wall and the door. The other beside him in grain.”

“We calculated where we cut into the bins,” reported Jones. We started making cuts to bring the grain out. We made four cuts. It was quarter-inch steel. It’s real hard to cut through.”

Responders handled equipment similar to that used to extricate those trapped in vehicle accidents.

“We used air chisels, a rescue saw, and heavy hydraulics as well,” said Jones. Jones said the heat required a lot of workers to keep the efforts going quickly. According to the chi ef, the recorded temperature was 112 degrees outside and even hotter inside. Responders were rotated in and out of job functions alternating between work and rest in the heat.

“We needed more workers on the scene, it was hot,” said Jones. “We actually thought it would be a little quicker for us. We started expanding our manpower because of the heat conditions.”

Crews rotated working from both the top and the bottom of the bin. Calls went out to more departments as two of the rescuers succumbed to the hot conditions and took IV’s for relief.

By the end a roster full of workers contributed to the successful rescues. Agencies working the scene rotated manpower filled support roles in the rescue efforts came from the Marked Tree and Tyronza responded with both Fire and Police. Riverside EMS, Trumann EMS, Crittenden EMS, and Hospital Wing, helped with the medical needs. Poinsett County Sheriff worked the scene. Fire Departments responding to the alarms included ran from Trumann, Bay, Jonesboro, and West Memphis.

A variety of specialists helped in the efforts too including a grain bin specialist from ASU, an engineer from Valley View Grain, and Jim’s Tank service. The tank trucks began vacuuming off the 40,000 bushels of grain that collapsed on them pinning two granary workers to the walls inside the safety exit off the bin. The vacuumed grain was transloaded into trailers at the scene.

Crittenden County Emergency Management Agency and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management were notified early on and advised of the situation.

Jones expressed appreciation for the team effort.

“It was a good outcome,” said Jones. “When you get an extrication call from a granary it usually doesn’t have a good outcome. Thanks needs to go to everyone that responded. We really needed all the manpower to get it done.”

Both men have been released from the hospital.

By John Rech