Saturday June, 10 2023

Nature: Safety & Technical Rescue / Engulfment Rescue Training

City: Millsboro

Over the past few days, members of the volunteer fire service from Ellendale (75), Dagsboro (73), Millsboro (83), Indian River (80) and Ridgely (400) attended a Safety & Technical Rescue / Engulfment Training Seminar hosted by Mountaire Farms in Millsboro, Delaware

This grain (engulfment) rescue training utilized various instructional methods to convey the significance of such an incident including necessary emergency response hazards and precautions as well as equipment requirements.  Illustrated herewith is some information updates and photographs of the training evolutions. 

ENGULFMENT

Engulfment means to be swallowed up in or be immersed by material, which may result in asphyxiation.

Engulfment results when a person is surrounded and overcome by a granular substance such as soil, sand, gravel, sawdust, seed, grain or flour or if submerged in a liquid such as water or a chemical. Engulfment causes physical harm when the material has enough force on the body to cause injury or death by constriction, crushing, or strangulation. Respiratory hazards associated with engulfment includes suffocation from breathing in a fine substance that fills the lungs or from drowning in a liquid.

Trenches, excavation pits, grain bins, etc. pose an engulfment hazard when a cave-in or soil collapse engulfs a worker. These trenches or open pits should have an adequate number of exit ladders, daily safety inspections, and should include safety engineering such as proper shoring and sloping.

Piles of loose granular materials pose an engulfment hazard if they shift or slide. Workers should not stand, climb, or walk on piles of materials without safety equipment like a hoist with a boatswains chair or a body harness. The hoist operator should pay out and retrieve excess line to maintain reasonable tautness. The hoist should be able to stop and hold any expected load including the impact of a fall.

Workers should be instructed on the hazards of over-sized containers and storage bins at the worksite as well as the materials kept in them. They should also be instructed on safety protocols, rescue operations, and the use of life safety equipment.