Firefighters train for farm emergencies

STURGIS – More than a dozen members from four area fire departments took part over the weekend in a safety-training program called "Managing Farm Tractor and Machinery Emergencies."

The two-day workshop started in a classroom setting Friday at Burr Oak Fire Department and continued Saturday with hands-on exercises at Chuck's Auto and Towing in Sturgis Township.

Event organizer Jeremy Smallwood, a captain with Burr Oak Fire and Rescue, said the St. Joseph County program was one of six presented statewide by instructors from Saginaw-based Emergency Services Rescue Training.

Participants were from fire/rescue agencies in Burr Oak, Mendon, Colon and Tri-Township. Scenarios included responding to a tractor rollover, farm-equipment entanglement, and general tractor and machinery incidents.

Smallwood estimated training of this nature has not been presented locally within the past decade.

"Some of these scenarios have happened in our county – tractor on top of a vehicle in a roadway incident, for example – so it's not like any of these situations we’re covering can't or won't happen," Smallwood said. "We invited other area departments, as well as Bronson and Howe, so I’m glad to see we have some other agencies represented. Let's face it, if we find ourselves in a farm-equipment rescue situation, we’ll be working with these guys so the training will definitely come into play."

Instructors spent classroom and hands-on training covering strategies necessary when dealing with farm equipment, Stabilization of an overturned tractor, for example, was discussed at length in the classroom, exercised the next day on a tabletop involving a toy tractor and stuffed animal, and later with a real tractor and straw-stuffed dummy.

"There's the EMS side and an agricultural situation will be treated differently because we don't typically come across a scene where a 60,000-pound piece of equipment laying on someone's leg," Smallwood said. "That changes the way you’re going to treat the patient as opposed to a regular broken leg."

David Smigiel, lead instructor with Emergency Services Rescue Training, said the training isn't meant to make anyone experts or achieve any level of certification. Rather, the purpose is to simply present situations that aren't far-fetched from reality, especially in a place with as much agricultural activity as St. Joseph County.

"Just start thinking about these incidents in general … this is sometimes the first time in their entire fire career that they’ve worked with farm equipment and on-the-farm scenarios," Smigiel said. "We have all trained with street vehicles, semis and school buses, and most areas of Michigan are surrounded by agriculture in some manner. So, fire/EMS personnel need to know how to respond, how to work together and how to do all this in a timely manner to save someone pinned under an overturned tractor or get wedged between the dual wheels of a tractor."

The two-day training – 12 hours in total – was funded through a grant from Michigan OSHA. Local sponsors helped cover the cost of equipment and other necessities.