71-year-old avoids injury after falling into grain bin near Disko

A 71-year-old man walked away from a potentially dangerous accident after he fell into a grain bin Thursday morning at a farm near Disko.

The Henry Township Volunteer Fire Department successfully rescued a 71-year-old man Thursday morning after he fell into a grain bin near Disko. When firefighters arrived on scene around 10:50 a.m., the man was holding onto a board that family members had thrown him, which kept him from slipping further into the grain. Between 10,000 and 12,000 bushels of grain had to be emptied from the grain bin during the rescue. The man was free from the bin at 11:37 a.m., walking away from the scene with little to no injuries. 

Rochester Assistant Fire Chief Jamie Gagnon was on scene helping Henry Township Volunteer Fire Department. He said the man was lucky, and that grain bin entrapment situations can be very dangerous, with the potential to crush victims who get sucked in due to pressure from the massive amount of grain. 

Grain entrapment, or grain engulfment, occurs when a person becomes submerged in grain, and cannot get out without assistance. The accident most frequently occurs in grain bins, silos and other storage facilities, but has also been known to happen around any large quantity of grain, even freestanding piles outdoors. Typically unstable grain collapses suddenly, wholly or partially, burying workers who fall in it. Engulfment has been known to have a very high fatality rate.