By Adam Wallworth
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — An old Ford tractor lay on its side, pinning the Fayetteville Fire Department’s “rookie” underneath it — an example of what can happen in an instant on a farm.
Firefighters from departments around Washington County took turns Wednesday practicing ways to free the “rookie,” a dummy made of old fire hose, as part of a farm-safety clinic.
The two-day clinic at the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Arena in Fayetteville was sponsored by the Young Farmers and Ranchers and Woman’s Committee of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, which hopes to establish the session as an annual event.
Farm accidents are not that frequent in Washington County, but they are serious when they spring up, said Becky Stewart, chief of Central Emergency Medical Service, which provides ambulance service to most of the county.
Stewart said the agency receives about five calls a year for accidents involving farming equipment. Agricultural-related injuries tend to run more toward getting stepped on by a horse, she said.
“We don’t see serious farm injury accidents often,” Stewart said. “When we do, they’re usually pretty bad, so we like to train on stuff that’s high risk and low frequency.” Stewart said the ambulance service incorporates this type of accident in its routing training, but hasn’t had a formal hands-on session. The types of injuries are basically the same, regardless of how they are inflicted, she said.
What her crews rarely encounter is an overturned tractor, which is dangerous for both the injured and the rescuers, she said.
Many people working in emergency services in the area are farmers themselves, Stewart said. They may use a tractor every day, she said, but not see it from a rescue perspective.
Kevin Murray is among those who has an agricultural background, but he can only remember going on two such calls in his 20-plus years with the Fayetteville Fire Department. Murray led the session on freeing a person from an overturned tractor.
Murray was stationed at the south end of the arena with a variety of tools spread out on a red tarp. The old Ford 3000, with a homemade paint job, lay on its side on top of the “rookie.” The group secured the tractor to a post and placed jacks under the wheels to keep it from rolling on them. They used air bags to lift the tractor enough to pull the mannequin free.
Tractors are only one piece of dangerous equipment emergency workers may encounter. What the tractor is pulling also is potentially dangerous, said Tracy Gregg, training officer for Central Emergency Medical Service.
Gregg pointed out the numerous ways a farmer could get caught in a hay baler or discbine, a type of hay mower. Both provide ample opportunities to get snagged and injured, or worse, he said.
“You’re as likely to lose your life as you are to lose a limb,” he said.
With the safety shield open, Gregg ran the discbine and round baler to show the blades and chains that can easily snag a person.
Gregg said the materials used to build farm equipment are much sturdier than most people are used to working on.
Copyright 2009 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc.