An amazing rescue by numerous area first responders saved the life of a South Prairie farmer who had fallen into a grain bin Tuesday, June 23.

Minot Rural Fire Department and Burlington Rural Fire Department were called to assist shortly before 6 p.m. after the Ryder-Makoti Rural Fire Department was notified of an individual trapped in a large grain bin southwest of the South Prairie school. Units from Minot, Max and Garrison fire departments also responded.

Burlington Fire Chief Karter Lesmann said the farmer’s grandchildren initially attempted to get him out but sought help when the suction of the grain only pulled him in deeper.

Lesmann, whose Burlington unit had provided a high ladder truck, was one of five firefighters who entered the bin to secure the farmer with rope, just as rescuers were secured by rope to the ladder truck.

“At one point he was basically under the grain but we were able to get him back up and his airway opened up,” he said. “We just kept doing what we are trained to do.”

He explained the rescue equipment consists of a tube about six feet high and 18 inches wide with locking parts to encircle a grain bin victim. The positioning of the individual in this instance made him difficult to encircle, but firefighters were able to work with a partial circle and portable augers to slowly make progress in removing grain while keeping the farmer from becoming sucked under.

More than 60 people from the departments worked to facilitate the rescue, Lesmann estimated. Most of them were busy on the ground as wheat was augered from the bin.

“It took every one of them to get the grain moved back,” Lesmann said.

He estimated the bin was about three-quarters full. It took more than four hours to remove about three-quarters of that grain to safely extricate the farmer, who walked away once back on the ground, he said.

Lesmann said the individual was taken to receive medical attention and remained in the hospital Wednesday, June 24.

These are the types of incidents firefighters train for, but Lesmann said the training doesn’t compare to the urgency and pressure responders are under in a real incident.

Lesmann said the farmer probably spent about five hours in the bin before finally freed. The manufacturers of the rescue equipment noted individuals in his situation typically have a 10% chance of survival, he said. Having gone under the grain at one point, his chance of coming out alive dropped to 3%.

“We were there at the right time,” Lesmann said, “and, apparently, we did the right things.”