How do you rescue a man stuck in grain to just above his waist?  Very carefully — and slowly — said Corpus Christi, Texas, firefighters who built a special wooden box that enclosed the trapped man. They were then able to lower the grain level around the worker enough to pull him to safety, hours after he became stuck in a grain elevator. Thirty firefighters, rotating in teams, spent about five hours in the delicate rescue effort at the Corpus Christi Grain Co., said Assistant Fire Chief Randy Paige.

CNN reported this dramatic grain rescue by the Corpus Christi Fire Department back in April. OSHA has just announced significant penalties and multiple violations for theTexas grain company. Here’s more…

How do you rescue a man stuck in grain to just above his waist?  Very carefully — and slowly — said Corpus Christi, Texas, firefighters who built a special wooden box that enclosed the trapped man. They were then able to lower the grain level around the worker enough to pull him to safety, hours after he became stuck in a grain elevator. Thirty firefighters, rotating in teams, spent about five hours in the delicate rescue effort at the Corpus Christi Grain Co., said Assistant Fire Chief Randy Paige.

The 50-year-old unidentified man was alone inside the grain elevator when he became stuck, said Paige, who did not know what the employee was doing inside or what variety of grain was in the structure. The man was discovered more than an hour later by co-workers, and the rescue began, with a successful conclusion around 8:30 p.m. The man was taken Wednesday night to a local hospital for observation and was in stable condition, Paige told CNN. The man did not complain of injuries.

Firefighters who arrived on the scene opened a hatch on the side of the round elevator, which is about 100 feet in diameter and about 75 feet tall, officials said. They could see the employee who was a few feet above ground level in the tank. He also was standing above valves that release grain to an area below ground, Paige said. As they got to work, they also saw that the grain rose in a “V” shape along the tank’s walls to about 50 feet above the worker, who was in the middle of the elevator, Paige said.

“This stuff is real fine and granular and he was unable to move,” the chief said. Crews used plywood to build wood shoring that was about the shape of a small closet. They put it in position around the employee. When they opened the valve, the grain dropped and they were able to pluck the employee to safety. “We had to be very careful and slow at this,” said Paige. “We were worried about an avalanche effect.”

The fire official was proud of his team, which had three members inside the tank at all times. They had to deal with warm temperatures and were able to get fluids, by water and intravenously, to the trapped man. “Luckily, the dust was not too bad.” It all came down to training and resourcefulness, Paige said.

What were the other options? Plan B called for using a hoisting device at the top of the elevator, but crews were worried about the stress on the employee’s body if they tried to pull him up. Plan C involved a vacuum truck that would have removed the grain.”Luckily, Plan A worked on this one,” said Paige.

OSHA has cited Corpus Christi Grain Co. in Corpus Christi, Texas, for six willful and 20 serious violations with total proposed penalties of $258,900. OSHA‘s Corpus Christi Area Office initiated its inspection at the company’s facility after it was reported that a worker was engulfed while emptying grain from a storage bin. The employee was rescued due to the exceptional efforts of the Corpus Christi Fire Department.

“Employees working in grain storage buildings are exposed to dangerous conditions, and proper safety measures must be taken,” said Michael Rivera, director of OSHA’sCorpus Christi office. “If OSHA’s standards were followed, it is possible this unfortunate incident could have been avoided.”

The willful violations include failing to provide personal protective equipment, such as a body harness and life line, for employees working with stored grain; perform lockout/tagout procedures for the energy sources of equipment, such as augers and conveyors, while workers are inside the grain bins; and have a competent attendant present with rescue equipment when workers enter grain storage bins.

The serious violations include failing to ensure that employees are trained on the hazards associated with grain handling, cover openings with grates in grain bins, ensure that workroom floors are clear of combustible dust, and provide a preventive maintenance schedule for machinery.

References:

CNN
OSHA

Iowa Fatality Assessment & Control (FACE) Program

(An updated review of more recent data is available at Confined space Fatalities...an updated look at the numbers)

At some point during just about every Roco CSRT Rescue Stand-By job, someone will ask us why we are there. After we tell them that we’re there to make sure all the workers go home safely (and explain some of the basic requirements of OSHA’s 1910.146 regulation), they will normally add, “Well, we’re glad you’re here!”When asked how often we have to do a rescue, we’ll tell them that it’s not often – because our goal is to make sure a rescue never has to happen. With careful pre-planning and proper entry procedures, an entry rescue should not be needed. 

As we all know, however, things go wrong – especially in a confined space. And that’s when a Stand-by Rescue Team can make all the difference in the world – especially to the worker(s) in the hole.

With a facility that plans for confined space entry and routinely follows all safety precautions, employees just might not realize how common these confined space emergencies can be. With that in mind, we decided to do some very basic analyses of statistics from the Department of Labor. In looking at permit-required confined space incidents from 2005 through 2009, we found some of these statistics to be surprising.

Here’s what we found… during the 5-year period (2005-2009), there were a total of 481 fatalities. This averages to about 96.2 fatalities per year (or 1.85 fatalities per week). If you carry this logic forward, it equates to 1 fatality about every 4 days. And keep in mind that this data only covers incidents with at least one fatality or death, so these numbers don’t include all of those incidents that resulted in serious injuries or illnesses. 

These fatalities occurred in 28 states…with just about every age group other than the very young and the very old equally represented. Over 61% (or 298) of these incidents occurred during construction, repairing or cleaning activities. For 203 of the fatalities, the victim worked in the construction industry regularly; however, 17% (or 83) of the victims were in management positions.

Over 61% of confined space entry fatalities occurred during construction, repairing or cleaning activities.

One of the most surprising statistics had to do with the causes of these fatalities. Generally, you would assume that the most common cause of confined space emergencies would be atmospheric hazards. However, during this particular period, that was not the case. The largest cause by a significant measure was “Physical Hazards.” This broad term encompasses a lot of territory including, “struck by”; “caught in”; “collapses”; and “falls.” Physical hazards accounted for 294 or 61% of the fatalities. Atmospheric hazards (including fires) accounted for 160 or 33% of the incidents.

These numbers serve to remind us how important proper safety precautions are when it comes to confined spaces. For emergency responders, atmospheric hazards are always on our minds – however, from this, we also must consider the many physical hazards that are often found in confined spaces – especially when construction or maintenance activities are in process.

Unfortunately, there’s not a reasonably priced “non-destructive” test to determine a particular rope’s strength. Your best bet is to have trained personnel using the rope, keep good rope use logs and inspect the rope after every use. It’s always best to refer to your rope manufacturer for proper care, inspection and replacement, so that’s what we did.

Here’s what Steve Hudson, President of PMI Rope, had to say.
He first referenced the product literature that’s included with PMI rope that states:

RETIRE IMMEDIATELY:
- Any rope whose strength may have been compromised during use.
- Any rope which is subjected to uncontrolled or excessive loading.
- Any rope which is greater than 10 years old, regardless of history and usage.
- Any rope whose history and past usage you are uncertain about.

•     Extensive Use (e.g. Roco’s training rope) – replace every two (2) years or as needed.
•     Occasional Use (e.g. once a month) – replace every five (5) years or as needed.
•     Regardless of Use – replace every ten (10) years.

We're often asked about using training rope for rescue purposes, so here's what we discovered...

The short answer is yes. However, NFPA 1500 provides some additional guidelines.

NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program (2007 Edition)
7.16.3* Life safety rope used for rescue at fires or other emergency incidents or for training shall be permitted to be reused if inspected before and after each such use in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions and provided that the following criteria are met:

(1) The rope has not been visually damaged by exposure to heat, direct flame impingement, chemical exposure or abrasion.

Two workers are killed every month in trench collapses. Unprotected trenches are among the deadliest hazards in the construction industry and the loss of life is devastating.Since 2003, more than 200 workers have died in trench cave-ins and hundreds more have been seriously injured. OSHA has three new guidance products to educate employers and workers about the hazards in trenching operations.