TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - A grant from the Taylorville Memorial Foundation equipped local firefighters with grain bin rescue kits.
The Taylorville Fire Department received a grant from Taylorville Memorial Foundation to purchase equipment to rescue a person trapped inside a grain bin.
"Grain bin rescues are known as low-frequency/high-risk calls," said Taylorville Fire Department chief Nick Hackney. "But, unfortunately, they have become more frequent in our fire district and mutual aid districts in Christian County."
Hackney said his department has responded to three emergency calls involving grain bin rescues in the past two years, one of those a recovery.
As a result, 24 firefighters from the Taylorville Fire Department and its mutual aid districts enrolled in grain bin rescue certification classes through Illinois Fire Service Institute.
A $15,000 community health grant from the Taylorville Memorial Foundation allowed the fully trained firefighters to also be fully equipped.
"The hospital is located in the heart of Christian County and we are a rural community that wants to support our local farmers," said Raedena Ryan, Executive Director of the foundation.
The grant provided equipment for three rope rescue kits, 10 personal kits for rescuers, as well as a battery-powered cut-off saw for cutting into a grain bin and three battery-powered light towers. The grant also covered the cost of two gas monitors, which allow rescuers in the bin and outside to measure gas levels.
"It's one of those investments we hope we actually won't use, but if it needs to be, we want to equip them with the right tools," said Ryan.
The grant is provided through the foundation's board-directed Community Health Grant Program, which was launched in 2021, to assist with funding health-related projects in Christian County.
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