WN Firefighters completed grain rescue training in Verner on May 3. L-R: Stephan Rahaman, Station 6 (Verner), Ben Koning, Station 6, David Lichty, Station 8 (Monetville), and Philippe Mondoux, Station 6 were among the 25 trainees. 
A special truck with an amended grain bin full of barley was set up at the rear of the Co-Op feed mill in Verner on May 3 to train West Nipissing firefighters to use specialized equipment in the rescue of victims who fall into grain silos.
Isabel Mosseler
Tribune
In a proactive step to address one of agriculture’s most dangerous hazards, 25 volunteer firefighters from West Nipissing underwent specialized Grain Rescue Training on May 3, in Verner, behind the Co-Op feed mill. This intensive session equipped local first responders with both the tools and knowledge required to save lives in the event of grain silo entrapments—incidents where individuals become trapped, and potentially suffocated, in grain storage facilities. Grain entrapment isn’t something that happens often, explained Pascal Morin, Training Officer for the West Nipissing Fire Department, but when it happens, it’s urgent, complex, and extremely dangerous. “We want to be ready.”
The day-long training involved hands-on simulations using a grain entrapment rescue system, including a four-panel rescue tube that clips together and is lowered over the victim, and an auger inserted into the tube used to remove grain from around the person’s body. “Once someone’s waist-deep in grain, pulling them out is nearly impossible without this equipment,” Morin explained. “The grain acts like quicksand—it creates a kind of suction around the person, so movement just makes it worse.” He estimated that in such an incident, depending on where the farm is located, it could take up to 20 minutes for the response team to arrive.
During the training, teams of 4 firefighters took turns being the rescuers and also playing the role of “victim” to understand the experience firsthand. “It feels like a giant vacuum is sealing you in place,” described Stephan Rahaman from Station 6 in Verner. “The grain tightens around you every time you breathe in. It’s a smothering, claustrophobic feeling.” Fellow firefighter Philippe Mondoux described the psychological challenge: “If you panic, it gets worse. You just have to calm your mind and remind yourself you’re okay.”
The rescue training was made possible thanks to a collaboration between the West Nipissing Sudbury East Federation of Agriculture (WNSEFA), the Co-Operative Régionale de Verner, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) Revive Fund. The combined support helped cover the $7,400 cost for training and equipment.
“It was Denis Castonguay, General Manager of the Co-operative Régionale, who first reached out about this,” said Madeleine Beaudry, President of WNSEFA. “Our Board thought it was a great project and also applied for funds through the Revive Fund that the OFA offer. This project fit with the other projects we have been working on over the years of farm safety.”
