5 dead in Virginia farming accident

[tallyho8]

A deadly tragedy. Don't let this happen to you.

5 dead in Virginia farming accident
7/3/2007, 8:16 a.m. CDT
The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Deadly methane gas emanating from a dairy farm's manure pit killed five people, including four members of a Mennonite family, authorities said.

Emergency workers speculate each of the victims climbed into the pit in a frantic attempt to rescue the others. "It was a domino effect with one person going in, the second person going after them," Sheriff Don Farley said.

Farley identified the victims as Scott Showalter, 33; his wife, Phyillis, 34; their children, Shayla, 11, and Christina, 9; and Amous Stoltzfus, 24, who worked at the Showalter's dairy farm in the Briery Branch community.

The accident began Monday evening when Scott Showalter tried to transfer manure from one small pit to a larger one, measuring 20 feet by 20 feet and 8 feet deep.

At some point, the pipe that was transferring the manure became clogged, and Scott Showalter climbed in the pit to fix the blockage, Farley said. He apparently was overcome by methane gas, which is a byproduct of the liquefied manure, Farley said.

Emergency workers believe Stoltzfus climbed into the pit in an attempt to rescue Showalter. When the two men didn't come out, Phyillis Showalter and then the couple's two daughters apparently made their way in, all succumbing to the deadly gas

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Tallyho,
That is indeed a terrible accident ! My prayers to the family and friends of these people. We have a large manure pit only a few miles away, it must be a couple hundred feet in diameter, but it does have a 6ft fence around the perimeter. I believe the farmer uses a PTO driven pump on an old JD to fill the spray tankers.

Thanks for the reminder !

 

[knute_m]

When it is just a county or two away, a tragedy like this seems even more magnified because of the local media.

But, what should really get our attention is how easy it is for such a horrible tragedy to occur. This was neither a subsistence nor a hobby farm. The farm families in that area are the best of the best in this country. These are families that have been farming continously for generations.

If people like this can become victims, those of us who dabble really need to take notice.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

A tragedy yes but unfortunately this is what NORMALLY happens with this sort of thing.

A person goes down the hole & collapses; the observer sees no hazard & thinks it may be heart attack & goes down to rescue them. Now you have two victims & more may follow for the same reason.

It doesn’t have to be explosive or even smell bad; it can just be the lack of oxygen which without instrumentation you can not detect.

People have died inspecting drained potable water tanks. Drinking water, what could hurt you? The rusting steel uses up the oxygen & you asphyxiate.

The way to avoid this kind of tragedy is to know before you go but when it's a loved one in trouble even that may not be enough. I'm not sure I could have resisted going in to help either.

 

[CharlieTR]

I agree that this and other farming accidents repeat themselves much to often. Manure pits and silos seem to be a main danger areas that repeatedly kill more than one. The last manure pit story I read took the life of five grown men all from the same family (most, if not all were bothers). If any one has a pit they must invest in a detector and a blower with ducting they use in the manholes for utilities and USE THEM!

 

[firec]

We have a manure pit on one of the local farms that just started being used, the size is 200 x 300' and about 18' deep. I've been trying to preplan our fire department response in the event of a like accident but what really amazes me is that the farmers are not required to have any of the safety device that you think would be mandated. The one we have, has no testors / alarm devices not even a lifering and a rope in case somebody fell it.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

We have a manure pit on one of the local farms that just started being used, the size is 200 x 300' and about 18' deep. I've been trying to preplan our fire department response in the event of a like accident but what really amazes me is that the farmers are not required to have any of the safety device that you think would be mandated. The one we have, has no testors / alarm devices not even a lifering and a rope in case somebody fell it.

Firec,

Industry uses CFR 29 part 1910 (OSHA) agriculture uses part 1928 which has different requirements.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration - OSHA HOME PAGE

I would suggest at a minimum using a PFD, safety harness with a rope & winch, SCBA and getting hosed off real good when done. About all your department might not already have is the PFD. There are some swift water rescue models out there with built in harness, crotch straps & extra flotation.

In Suffolk County, NY the fire academy has a confined space entry maze to train in, they may offer it to fire departments from other counties as well.

Then there is the question of infection if you had to go into one of those pits?

Thanks for being a fireman.

 

[Kendall69]

...amazes me is that the farmers are not required to have any of the safety device that you think would be mandated

What amazes me is that they have to have SAFETY mandated, and they don’t just use common sense when it come to things like this, and provide a safe solution.

The gas alone that comes off these things is dangerous by itself.

I don’t get it.

 

[firec]

Thanks Drainponddesign,

I've been told that OSHA reg do not apply to farms because if they did most would be out of business. I feel sorry for the farmers who struggle to keep going with the higher cost and still low prices for milk and crops, but I need to look out for my members also. You are correct that this is considered both a hazmat and a confined space rescue, unfortunetly in our county the hazmat teams do not do recoveries which is what these calls usually are. I currently have contacted the county fire office, state fire office and have even contacted Cornell Univeristy to try define a response plan. There are a least 8 Manure pits in my county and nobody has a preplan on how to respond. As you can see by the Virginia incedent, they thought the father had a heart attach and did not consider it may have been something else and emotions took over adding to the tragedy. Our local farmer was required to put the pit in because of the number of cows he had (what I've been told)

The hardest part of being a volunteer is that we train for what occurs most often - fire / ems, something like this is out of the normal relm and requires specialized training and equipment - I took a confined space class a few years ago and they told us unless you supplied air (no scba) do not attempt it. This was for Silos but would apply here also. I hate to see more goverment intervention lord knows they would mess it up but a set of basic guidelines would be nice.

sorry for the soapbox.

 

[Renze]

Most farmers here are programmed for this situation: Allways start calling emergency rescue, then take another person to the pit opening, and take a rope tied around your belly before you go in.

The domino effect of people trying to rescue each other, also happened locally when the farm size started to grow, and livestock was held on pits instead of straw pens, and people didnt know the risks.


Entering a manure pit is allways dangerous: If the gas concentration is very high, you dont smell anything at all and just go inconscious in a matter of seconds. Few seconds after that, death follows shortly. I used to have a scheme of gas concentrations and their effects on the human smell sense, the brain and the lungs. scary stuff.

Rule of thumb is here, if someone needs to be in the pit, use a blower or anything to circulate fresh air for at least a day, and dont go in without being tied to a rope with 2 people at the pit opening.

Off course a rescue oxygen mask, or the gas mask my brother kept from his time in the army, are much more preferrable methods....