By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent ROSS, Ohio — On May 30, Butler County farmer Ray Butterfield became trapped in the grain silo on his 116-acre Ross Township farm. The best part of this tragedy is that he lived to tell about it. According to the Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health, nearly half of grain entrapments that become engulfments lead to death by suffocation. Butterfield was trapped up to his chin in soybeans before a crew of 50 rescue workers were able to free him down to mid-chest. “A sea of shifting soybean kernels had risen to my knees and it was then I knew I was in trouble,” said Butterfield, 70. “It was like being in quicksand or cement.” He was indeed lucky to beat the odds. Others haven’t been; just last week, Joshua Stone, 29, of Rossford, and James Heilman, 56, of Perrysburg, died after being trapped in a grain storage tank near Toledo. The Associated Press reported they became trapped Friday morning inside the silo operated by The Andersons. A Toledo Fire Department spokesman said rescue crews spent nearly two hours trying to reach the men; at one point they were able to make contact with one of the workers. A statement released by The Andersons said the company will work authorities to investigate what happened. Last spring, dairy farmer Daniel Briel, 51, and his 14-year-old son, David, died in a grain silo avalanche on their Hillsdale, Wis., farm. And in 2018, Noah Yeley, 18, was confirmed deceased after becoming trapped in a grain bin on his Marshall, Ill., farm. Soybeans that came out of Butterfield’s field last November were damp, didn’t dry well, and weren’t flowing smoothly out of an opening in the bottom of his 30-foot-tall corrugated steel bin. So on May 30, he scaled a ladder on the outside and climbed down into the shadowy bin with a length of plastic pipe to break up the damp clumps. He wore no harness or safety equipment. “You think it’s not going to happen to you,” said the second-generation Ohio farmer. He began poking and breaking up the hard legumes to help facilitate the flow. He was near the bottom of the bin when he got stuck. Then, the crop that was piled up around the sides started to shift. “The beans went out from under my feet and sucked them down fast,” Butterfield said. “Then they started rolling on top of me.” He was standing close to the bottom of the bin and put his foot on the rotating auger; the machinery stripped the leather off one of this steel-toed boots. He yelled to his brother-in-law for help. But, by the time the first rescue squad arrived, Butterfield was buried up to his chest with his arms in the air. Ten minutes later the grain was up to his chin. The rescue took approximately three hours. “For two hours I thought I was a dead man.” he said. “I’m a very lucky man.” One of Butterfield’s friends, Charlie Groh, died in a corn bin in 2013 in a neighboring township. According to researchers at Purdue University, more than 900 cases of grain engulfment have been reported, with a fatality rate of 62 percent over the past 50 years. Last year alone there were 30 grain entrapments documented nationwide, with half the victims dying. Boys under 18 are especially susceptible. Promoting grain bin safety in Ohio is the job of Dee Jepsen, The Ohio State University’s state safety leader. “Farmers today still store beans and corn in these bins, and more storage means more of a need to manage the grain, and all this leads to more exposures to grain bin hazards,” Jepsen said. “The ultimate goal is to work to prevent farm deaths and injuries, and one way to do that is through education and awareness of grain bin safety. “It’s important to understand how fast grain can consume you and how quickly you can become helpless. The main message I spread is prevention. Never enter a grain bin alone, shut off the auger before entering the bin, and always wear a fall protection harness.” The University of Illinois extension outlines a nine-point practical grain bin safety guideline for every farmer: •Break up crusted grain with a long pole from outside the bin and be mindful of electric lines •Wear a harness attached to a secured rope if you do enter a bin •Stay near the outer wall of the bin and keep walking to get to the ladder or safety or safety rope as quickly as possible, if grain starts moving and you’re inside •Have at least one other person outside the bin in case you become trapped; make sure they’re trained on rescue procedures and know the safety procedures and rules for entering the bin •Anyone working in a grain bin needs to wear a dust filter or respirator •Stay out of grain bins, wagons, and trucks when unloading equipment is operating •If you do enter the bin, make sure all augers and fans are off and locked so they are not accidentally turned on while in the bin •Keep children far from bins, wagons, and trucks •Install ladders inside grain bins for an emergency exit whenever possible, and paint bright stripes so they can easily be located in a dusty bin |
