1. Farm Emergency Operations
Unit 55
Farm Emergency Operations

2. Overview Farm emergencies Farm rescue principles Tractor accidents
Silos, grain bins, manure storage
Farm chemicals

3. Introduction Farmers are and self-reliant
When EMS gets a call to respond to a farm, assume true emergency exists
Special circumstances that are unique to rural EMS may exist on scene

4. Farm Emergencies 100,000 children injured on farms annually
Most farm emergencies are
Usual mechanisms of injury
Machinery, tractor collisions, electrocutions, falling objects, and livestock
Drowning
Second leading cause of death on farm for children under five

5. Farm Rescue
serves as excellent preparation for future emergencies on farm
Include in preplan:
Detailed maps of farm outlining building location
Preplanned staging areas for heavy or special rescue
Material safety data sheets (MSDS) for chemicals used or stored on farm

6. Basic Rescue Principles
EMT should approach every scene cautiously and look for threats
When encountering unique situations, EMT should call for rescue personnel immediately
EMT should consider using emergency move to safely extricate accessible patient

7. Livestock
When scared, livestock can kick, pin, bite, or gore a person in their path of escape
EMT should never attempt rescue by getting between animal and patient
Patient, who is down in livestock area, should not be approached until animal has been secured

8. Livestock (cont’d.)
Animals harbor many diseases that are “cross-species” communicable
Use appropriate personal equipment
If trained to do so, move animal away from patient or remove patient
EMT should always have escape route planned in case animal charges

9. Farm Vehicle Heavy Rescue
Many obstacles are faced when managing farm rescue:
Remote areas with poor road conditions
Trouble turning off diesel engines or stabilizing heavy equipment
Avoiding sharp cutting knives, rollers, and flails
Dealing with spilled fuel and battery acid

10. Farm Vehicle Heavy Rescue (cont’d.)
EMT must consider how to evacuate patient
Air medic may not be available
Ambulances may have difficult time traversing rough terrain
Combination of these factors can change patient rescue into body recovery

11. Mechanism of Injury Typical mechanism of on farm:
Entanglement in exposed screw, belt drive, or power takeoff (PTO) drive shaft
Being struck by spinning crank handles
Being crushed by shifting loads
Injuries typically seen:
Severe lacerations, puncture wounds, crushed injury

12. Farm Rescue Principles
Ensure scene and establish perimeter
Form plan and back-up plan for rescue
Request special equipment for rescue
In rare cases, field amputation by physician may be necessary

13. Tractor Accidents Tractor operation represents dual hazard to farmer
Tractors tend to have motor vehicle collisions when on highway
Tractors tend to rollover and pin operator
Figure 55.3 Slow-moving farm machinery is no match for high-performance engines in modern cars

14. Tractor Rollovers
Single largest contributor to mortality on farm is rollover
Rollovers pin operators under weight of tractor and literally crush them
Rollover protective structure (ROPS)
Protective bar preventing driver from being crushed under weight of tractor
Tractors prior to 1976 have no ROPS

15. Figure 55.4 The tractor operator
has a great deal more protection
with a rollover protective structure
(ROPS)
Figure 55.5 Operators of older tractors without ROPS, such as the one pictured here, are at risk for being entrapped and crushed

16. Tractor Rollovers (cont’d.)
Rescue
First, be prepared to suppress fire
Next, turn off tractor
Finally, turn attention to patient
Lift tractor off patient or dig patient out
Crushed pelvis highly likely; use pelvic sling or pneumatic anti-shock garment
Trauma to chest may cause collapsed lung (pneumothorax) and contusions

17. Power Takeoff Power PTO)
Spinning shaft that permits tractor to be used as portable power supply
Accidents occur when piece of clothing or hair becomes entangled in PTO
Resulting injury is severe lacerations
Disentangling patient may require specialized tools and trained personnel

18. Figure 55.6 An unshielded power takeoff (PTO), spinning as fast as 1,000 rpm, can tear a limb off

19. Silos Structures that store (chopped corn, alfalfa, chopped grass)
Silo gases created during process of fermentation and lactic acid production
Chief among these silo gases is nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
NO2 tends to displace oxygen and will cause suffocation

20. Figure 55.9 Brown stains on a silo can indicate the presence of nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

21. Silos (cont’d.)
Rescue
First use ventilation fans to clear dangerous silo gases
If victim is visible, drop rope or reach victim with pike pole
Never enter silo without safety/recovery system in place
May be necessary to cut silo to free victim

22. Grain Bins
Farmer can be submerged in of feed grain in as little as 10 seconds
Rescue procedures
First, talk to victim to help locate victim
Do not open gravity gates
If victim completely submerged, pairs of rescuers with safety harnesses may enter grain bin to attempt rescue
EMT should never enter grain bin

23. Manure Storage
Manure (storage structures) can be particularly dangerous
Unsuspecting person may walk on cap, crumbling it, and person may drown
Manure gases can either asphyxiate farmer or represent explosion hazard
Maintain safe distance

24. Toxic Manure Gas Danger for from manure gas is from methane
Other manure gases displace oxygen and asphyxiate victim
Early symptoms of hypoxia include headache, nausea, and dizziness
Key to survival is early recognition of these symptoms

25. Farm Chemicals
Farmers use large number of , herbicides, and fertilizers
Exposure to these chemicals should be treated as hazardous material exposure
EMT must wear personal protective equipment when confronted with farm chemical exposure

26. Conclusion
Farming can be one of most dangerous occupations in United States
Majority of EMS calls to farm can be managed with training and skills of average EMT
Some instances will require assistance of specially trained rescuers