Des Moines, IA – As farmers tend to their crops this season, Nationwide, the country’s no. 1 insurer of farms and ranches¹, is taking steps to help prevent grain entrapment deaths in rural America. In partnership with the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), Nationwide is awarding 48 fire departments across the country with life-saving grain rescue tubes and hands-on training to prepare them to respond when entrapments occur.

After receiving more than 1,000 nominations in the annual Nominate Your Fire Department Contest, a key piece of Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety advocacy campaign, the insurer and its partners are proud to award grain rescue tubes and training to the following 48 fire departments:

1. Alexander Rescue Squad, Taylorsville, NC
2. Aurelius Volunteer Fire Department, Auburn, NY
3. Berlin Fire Department, Berlin, WI
4. Bloomington Fire, Bloomington, WI
5. Cambridge Springs Volunteer Fire Department, Cambridge Springs, PA
6. Camden-Wyoming Fire Company, Camden, DE
7. Citizens Volunteer Fire Company, Fawn Grove, PA
8. City of Mount Vernon Fire Department, Mount Vernon, IL
9. Clinton-Warren Joint Fire District, Clarksville, OH
10. Clontarf Fire Department, Clontarf, MN
11. Coggon Fire Department / Linn County District 7, Coggon, IA
12. Downs Fire Department, Downs, KS
13. East Pembroke Fire Department, Batavia, NY
14. Fair Grove Fire Protection District, Fair Grove, MO
15. Fillmore Volunteer Fire Department, Fillmore, IN
16. Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department, Edinboro, PA
17. Friendsville Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department, Friendsville, MD
18. Grundy County Emergency Management, Grundy Center, IA
19. Jerome Township Division of Fire, Plain City, OH
20. Kewanee Community Fire Protection District, Kewanee, IL
21. Larned Fire Department, Larned, KS
22. Madelia Fire Department, Madelia, MN
23. Malden Fire Department, Malden, MO
24. Maxwell Community Volunteer Fire Department, Maxwell, TX
25. Mayville Fire & Rescue, Mayville, ND
26. Mendon Fire Department, Mendon, IL
27. Nemaha County Rural Fire District #4, Bern, KS
28. New Baden Fire Protection District, New Baden, IL
29. North Bollinger County Fire Protection District, Patton, MO
30. North Callaway Fire Protection District, Kingdom City, MO
31. Northrop Fire Department, Northrop, MN
32. Orlinda Volunteer Fire Department, Orlinda, TN
33. Oxford Volunteer Fire Department, Oxford, IA
34. Pembina Fire Department, Pembina, ND
35. Pikeville Volunteer Fire Department, Pikeville, TN
36. Rawlinsville Volunteer Fire Company, Holtwood, PA
37. Ripley Fire Department, Ripley, OH
38. Ronda Community Volunteer Fire Department, Ronda, NC
39. Rugby Volunteer Fire Department, Rugby, ND
40. Sargent Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Sargent, NE
41. Sequoyah County Rural Fire Protection District #1, Gore, OK
42. Sesser Fire Protection District, Sesser, IL
43. Shelby Volunteer Fire Department, Medina, NY
44. Summit Volunteer Fire Department, Summit, SD
45. Tri-County Fire Department, Waller, TX
46. Valley View Milling, Seneca, KS
47. Willards Volunteer Fire Department, Willards, MD
48. Xenia Fire Department, Xenia, IL

NECAS, based out of Peosta, IA, will deliver the rescue tubes and training to the winning fire departments throughout 2021, traveling to each location with state-of-the-art grain entrapment simulators and rescue tubes. The comprehensive training sessions include classroom education and rescue simulations using the entrapment tools, which are loaded onto 20-foot trailers and able to hold about 100 bushels of grain each. 

Nationwide is continuing to work with partners throughout 2021 to provide additional grain rescue tubes and training sessions to fire departments in need. To learn how to get involved and sponsor a rescue tube for your local fire department, visit the Partner With Us webpage.

About Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety advocacy campaign:
According to researchers at Purdue University, more than 900 cases of grain engulfment have been reported in the past 50 years with a fatality rate of 62%. In 2020, grain entrapments led to 20 deaths.

“It only takes seconds, or a simple mistake, for an adult to sink in the quicksand-like flow of grain and become fully entrapped or engulfed,” said Brad Liggett, Nationwide’s president of Agribusiness. “Adding to the risk is a lack of rescue equipment available to local fire departments and emergency responders who are called for help when a worker becomes trapped.”

To help address this industry issue, Nationwide initiated its Grain Bin Safety campaign in 2014 to educate those entering grain bins about the hazards involved and the importance of implementing safe entry procedures. A central piece of the campaign, the Nominate Your Fire Department Contest, aims to address the lack of specialized resources available to fire departments who are responding to bin entrapments.

“Since 2014, Nationwide has made it a mission to bring an end to this industry issue by raising awareness of the dangers and collecting funds to supply needed equipment to front line rescuers tasked with responding when accidents occur,” said Liggett. “With long-standing roots in agriculture, we’re thankful for the work America’s farmers do and for the contributions of our valuable partners who help us make a difference in rural communities.”

With 2021 donations included, Nationwide and partners have supplied these resources to 200 departments across 30 states. At least four fire departments have utilized their rescue tubes and training to successfully rescue entrapped workers.

“We’re incredibly proud to award more resources in 2021 than ever before and to continue growing these efforts until we can ensure every fire department that needs it has access to these critical rescue supplies,” said Liggett.

The program is supported by Nationwide and the following generous partners:

1. NECAS, KC Supply, Specialty Risk Insurance, CHS, ProValue Insurance, Mid Atlantic Farm Credit, Lutz Agency, Inc., SBS Insurance Agency, Mark Bruns Agency, New York Farm Bureau, Ohio Farm Bureau, Maryland Farm Bureau, Delaware Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, West Side Salvage, Gregerson Salvage, Scoular Grain, GROWMARK, Graham Insurance Agency, Valley Insurance Agency Alliance, Beacon Insurance Group, Eclipse Insurance Agency, LLC, Mealiff Insurance & Financial Services, Rugby Insurance Agency, FNIC Group, AGI SureTrack, Jerome Village (owned and developed by Nationwide Realty Investors), Settlemyre Farms, Gallagher, ABIS, David Larson Financial and Insurance Services, Inc., Sump Saver, Ohio Corn & Wheat, NOHR Wortmann Engineering, and First Gabrielson Agency.