VGCC and Justice Fire Department partner to offer Ag Rescue training

Vance-Granville Community College recently partnered with the Justice Rural Volunteer Fire Department in Franklin County to offer an unusual training program designed to prepare local firefighters for specific emergency situations that may occur on farms.

A course called “Agricultural Machinery Rescue” was conducted from Jan. 19 through March 3, with instructor Joe Burris of Greenville teaching at the fire station in Justice and, at times, on the farm of Kelly Harris, the former chief and current assistant chief of the department.

“This course is designed to train fire and rescue personnel so that they can begin to develop sound strategies to better manage agricultural rescue emergencies,” Burris said. “We covered as many of the rescue/recovery possibilities that we could, including stabilization, disentanglement, extrication and entrapment of a patient under a tractor that we overturned as well as other scenarios involving heavy equipment.”

In one scenario, a patient was trapped inside a grain bin simulator that contained 5,000 pounds of corn. “We used fire department aerial trucks to practice rescuing a patient who was trapped inside an actual empty grain bin, where they had to come out the top of the grain bin,” Burris noted. “We used an exothermic torch and an acetylene torch to cut metal because of the heavy nature of agriculture equipment that makes it hard to disassemble. We also identified the necessary elements of pre-incident planning, a scene size-up, incident action plan, hazard assessment procedures and command responsibilities associated with agricultural machinery rescue. We discussed the types of hazards and their consequences for rescuers that are associated with incidents involving agricultural machinery rescue operations.”

Burris has taught such agricultural courses for fire departments in other parts of North Carolina, but it was his first time working with VGCC’s Fire/Rescue Programs . He has over 40 years of experience in emergency services, including service as a fire and rescue training specialist with the N.C. Office of State Fire Marshal.

Kelly Harris said that Ag Machinery Rescue had been one of the best training programs that he had seen in his 32 years with the fire department. He called it “a superior class….and a great opportunity to learn a vast number of procedures to assist fire and rescue personnel.”

The department’s current chief, Linwood Powell, added, “This course was very educational to our department and surrounding mutual aid departments that attended. It covered a lot of issues that we may encounter in our area. The instructor had a vast knowledge of all areas that he taught and we highly recommend this class to anyone that has these hazards in their area.”

Some 38 firefighters participated in the class, representing not only the Justice fire department but also the Bunn, Louisburg, Stem, White Level, Franklinton and Gold Sand fire departments and Butner Public Safety.

“Since agriculture is such a huge part of the economy and the culture of the four rural counties served by VGCC, I thought it would be beneficial to our local fire departments to learn the latest techniques to respond to farm accidents,” said Randy Owen, the college’s coordinator/instructor of Fire/Rescue Programs. “I was glad to be able to reach out to our community and work with the Justice Fire Department on this training, which will improve public safety and hopefully save lives.”

A similar course is scheduled to be offered in May and June of this year by VGCC in partnership with the Warrenton Rural Fire Department.

VGCC provides training for both beginning and experienced firefighters in all areas of firefighting procedures and equipment, including training for firefighter certification at levels I and II. For more information, contact Randy Owen at owenr@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3448.

 

Above: Jarett Depizzol of the Justice Rural Volunteer Fire Department (center, in harness) is hoisted through the air to the top of a grain bin on the farm of Kelly Harris in the Justice community near Spring Hope as part of a rope rescue training exercise. Depizzol is also a student in the College Transfer program at VGCC. Seated on top of the bin are, from left, instructor Joe Burris and Russell Bottoms of the Louisburg Fire Department. (VGCC photo)

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