Rescue Trailers With Grain Vacs Help Rural Fire Departments

Rescue Trailers With Grain Vacs Help Rural Fire Departments The special trailer that the Gibbon Fire Department designed and built for rural rescue Vol 47 No 6 is now available for sale to other fire departments “I started the company R3 Rescue which is designed to empower and equip rural fire departments ” says Nate Firle of Gibbon Minn The heart of the R3 Rescue Rural Rescue Response trailer is a grain vacuum In addition to selling trailers the business offers training solutions for grain bin rescues using the grain vacuum and entrapment panels The Gibbon fire department members decided to add a grain vacuum to their equipment after successfully rescuing a farmer trapped in a bin of corn using a nearby farmer’s vacuum Working with manufacturers the firefighters custom-designed an 18-ft trailer with a mounted skid vac system with 185 ft of vac tubing and entrapment panels The trailer also includes equipment to handle other rural-related farm incidents such as tractor rollovers or farm implement accidents “We take it on a low percentage of calls for any farm equipment accidents or grain entrapments so we know we have the right tools We provide mutual aid to eight surrounding fire departments for grain bins or grain-related fires or accidents ” Firle says Since building the trailer they haven’t had any grain rescue calls but the vac was used to remove smoldering fiberglass insulation in an attic fire That prevented a lot of damage that would have occurred with water to put out the fire Firle notes Though it may not be needed often rural fire departments recognize the value of the grain vac and equipment on the R3 Rescue trailer Some departments don’t need as much storage space so Firle offers a 12-ft trailer option that’s a vac and pipe kit on wheels Other departments only want the vac or information he provides about obtaining grants to purchase equipment “One fire chief said that having a trailer elevated their confidence when thinking about rural rescue ” Firle says noting he provides two hours of training when delivering the trailer He’s seen that confidence in his own fire department where the number of applicants outnumber positions vacated by retiring firefighters Some Gibbon firefighters help outfit the trailers and a portion of the sales goes to the fire department Two R3 Trailers have been delivered and are in service multiple vac and pipe kits are also in service and eight additional fire departments in the U S are fundraising to purchase a trailer “There are few resources for rural departments to keep up with the evolving rescues including grain bin entrapments in rural America so our mission is to equip rural fire and rescue departments with the equipment training and confidence needed ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Nate Firle 157 E 13th St Gibbon Minn 55335 ph 320-979-4835; r3rescue@outlook com; natefirle@agrevival com; www r3-rescue com

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