UPDATE – The Maple Leaf accident was a delicate and complicated rescue – InkFreeNews.com

By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

MILFORD – Extricating a man from an auger at the Maple Leaf Farms Feed Mill Wednesday morning, May 8, required specially trained firefighters for a delicate and complicated task. The man, who was reportedly in his 20s, had his left leg caught up to the groin in the auger.

Tactical rescue equipment was required to free the man’s foot and leg from a sweeping auger at the bottom of an empty grain bin. Firefighters trained in tactical rescue from the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, Elkhart, Goshen and Clay Township in Elkhart County responded to the scene. Milford Deputy Fire Chief Todd Haines said firefighters from Milford and the Turkey Creek Fire Territory do not have the training or equipment for such a rescue.

The Milford Fire Department received a call around 8:41 a.m. of a man whose leg was caught in a snail. Shortly after the initial call, the Turkey Creek Fire Territory was declared. WWFT was requested at 8:56 a.m

Haines said the man, who had started working at the facility eight days earlier, appeared to have used the auger to clear debris from the bottom of the tank. He then continued sweeping with a broom when he accidentally stepped into the auger. The sweeping auger is connected to the main auger at the bottom of the container. The man’s boot tied up the snail and shut down the system. It is unknown how long he was trapped before help was called.

Haines explained that the grain bins are designed with tunnels underneath. Rescue workers had to penetrate the tunnel to get to the underside of the snail and free the man’s foot and leg.

It took rescuers 1 hour and 40 minutes to rescue the victim. He was then flown by Lutheran Air to an area hospital.

“They all worked fantastically together, it would never have worked out the way it did. It would have been a different story,” Haines explained. He noted that a trauma surgeon was on the way to the scene but was not needed.

Haines stated that the employee was the only person in the bin at the time of the accident and there was no security guard at the auger.