SEDALIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri Extension Fire and Rescue Training Institute (MU FRTI) will showcase grain bin safety at the Missouri State Fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Mathewson Exhibition Center in the blacksmith area.
FRTI and MU Extension Farm Safety and Health will offer hands-on educational activities and demonstrations, said interim FRTI director Kevin Zumwalt.
FRTI instructors will show how to prevent grain bin engulfment, explain how emergency responders work and demonstrate the equipment they use. Fairgoers can experience the effects of grain entrapment and learn ways to get out of a grain bin.
“Missouri has a high percentage of agricultural activity associated with grain production,” said MU Extension health and safety specialist Karen Funkenbusch. “The activities around and within the grain bins have the potential for entrapment or engulfment that can result in serious injury or death, especially for children.”
Funkenbusch urges farm families that cannot attend the fair this year to watch a short video on grain bin safety from MU Extension at youtu.be/n0cLGwqUXkI. She also recommends a video from the Missouri Department of Labor at youtu.be/KKozPwkGQ08.
Each year MU Extension Farm Safety and Health and the state agriculture and labor departments sponsor the Show-Me Farm Safety demonstrations in the Agriculture Building. The hands-on exhibits are kid-friendly, Funkenbusch said. They include a look-alike poison exhibit, protective masks, videos on grain bin entrapment and a hands-on demonstration to show how difficult it is to pull an entrapped person out of a grain bin. Information on all-terrain vehicle safety also will be provided.
The Missouri State Fair runs Aug. 9-19. For more information, go to www.mostatefair.com.
MU FRTI operates a grain engulfment simulator that provides realistic, hands-on training for first responders. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security/FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grants program provided funds for the simulator.
— Linda Geist, University of Missouri Extension
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