The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) Agriculture Rescue Program takes training on the road to the rural areas of Illinois. Through this training program, first responders train for tractor rollovers, grain bin entrapments, anhydrous ammonia releases and incidents that involve large animals, among others. These responses in the agriculture world could be classified as high-risk/low-frequency. The key to handling these incidents is training. Instructors must identify the level of current training and the level of experience of the students and build on those key items.
Five classes
Classes that the IFSI offers to fire departments and districts under its Cornerstone Program include Agriculture Rescue, Handling Anhydrous Ammonia Emergencies, Fires on the Farm, Large Animal Rescue Awareness and Grain Bin Rescue Awareness. The Cornerstone Program supports fundamental and essential skills training at no cost to the local fire districts and departments throughout Illinois, with funding from the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.
These classes are taught by field instructors who travel throughout the state to firehouses and farms.
The Agriculture Rescue class utilizes numerous specially equipped props that are carried on trailers to simulate real-time incidents. Some trailers also include rescue equipment for first responders to try before their department purchases the equipment with its own budget. The instructors also encourage the first responders to use the rescue equipment that they already have to see how it fits the rescue incident.
The Agriculture Rescue class is an all-encompassing training that covers everything from tractor rollovers to manure pit rescues. The hands-on portion utilizes an actual tractor that’s supplied by IFSI to rollover onto a “victim.” This is done along with a review of modern farm equipment that usually is supplied by a local dealer or farmer.
The Handling Anhydrous Ammonia Emergencies class addresses different reasons that these releases occur. It also addresses the basic characteristics of this common fertilizer. The class emphasizes preplanning for such incidents; how to safely handle small and large releases; how the product is transported and applied safely; and identifying the equipment and piping that’s involved in transporting and applying the product. Some IFSI instructors maintain Illinois Department of Agriculture Anhydrous Ammonia Competent Attendant certification to keep up with the latest rules and regulations.
The Fires on the Farm class challenges students to explore how individual agencies can handle rural fires (e.g., fires in barns, shops, machine sheds and large farm equipment, including tractors and combines). The class is available in person and online. It addresses preplanning response areas, automatic aid and other techniques.
The Large Animal Rescue Awareness class covers a need that first was addressed and requested by horse owners in Illinois. From that, the class was developed to focus on multiple species to address the spectrum of farm animals. The class teaches techniques for low-stress movement of animals through an understanding of large animal behavior. This covers some general first aid for large animals and the need to get a veterinarian who specializes in large animals on scene as soon as possible. The class also discusses the different types of trailers that are used to move large animals, because transportation incidents represent a significant portion of the emergency calls that involve large animals. This class also covers techniques to safely extricate animals from a variety of entrapments.
The Grain Bin Rescue Awareness class gives students an overview of everything that can be done on the outside of the grain bin during an entrapment incident as well as familiarization with the components of a grain handling facility. It gives trainees the ability to complete a nonentry retrieval rescue, because they might not have confined space training. Students are taught how to safely cut the grain bin with techniques that don’t disrupt the structural integrity of the grain bin. This procedure is done to release or remove the grain to either uncover victims or get pressure off of their body.
