New Rescue Winch For Upright Silos

New Rescue Winch For Upright Silos AG WORLD Ag World 8-1-28 Rescuing injured farmers from inside upright silos presents tough problems for rescue squads, particularly squads sent out from urban areas. A new silo safety winch, developed by the Hillsburgh, Ont., fire department, should help solve the problem. Designed so it can be built in any local machine shop for less than $300, the winch allows fire fighters to lower stretchers and other rescue equipment down into silos to quickly and safely extricate accident victims. Barry McKinnon, a Hillsburgh fire fighter, says he began working on the new safety device when he heard about a nearby fire department thatgot involved in rescuing a farmer with an injured leg from inside a silo. It took nearly 2 1/2 hours to get him out. "We realized that we had lots of silos in our area and no good plan for rescue," says McKinnon. The device consists of a boom arm clamped to the top of the silo walls with 4 bolts. If the silo is covered, the panels are either pushed or cut out of the way. The swiveling boom arm extends 26 in., enough to clear the sides of the silo when raising and lowering a cage-type stretcher. The unit uses a block and tackle for leverage and the rope is threaded through a pulley at the bottom of the outside of the silo so that whomever provides the pull at the base of the silo is not directly under the boom arm. The entire device weighs only about 40 lbs. and could be built lighter. The Hillsburgh fire department is distributing a video tape that demonstrates use of the device. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Barry McKinnon, Box 138, Hillburgh, Ont. (ph 519 855-4321).

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