Safety is priority #1 for U.P. Farm Bureaus

About 60 first responders and Farm Bureau members got a crash course on forestry and farm safety Aug. 23 at the Miracle of Life building at the U.P. State Fairgrounds in Escanaba. 

State Senator and Iron Range Farm Bureau member Ed McBroom and Rep. Dave Prestin opened the day with introductions and some safety basics to set the tone: Losing a finger, hand, foot, arm — or your life — in a farm or forestry incident is a real danger, but putting safety first means many risks can be avoided.

Healthcare professional Lindsey Slifka shared how to use a tourniquet, EpiPen, how to start CPR and help an injured person resume breathing. 

But what’s the first order of business when you come upon an accident? Call 911!

Safety expert Ryan Slifka from the Marquette Fire Department focused on fire or chemical cleanup safety, driving home these principal tenets: dam, dyke, divert spills, and phone right away for assistance by a trained contamination crew. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development tracks such spills and monitors a hotline — 800-405-0101 — for reporting hazardous material spills. 

Some other tips for working with hazardous substances included:

• When transporting chemicals, drivers should have on board a detailed information sheet about the contents they’re hauling. 
• Absorbent pads are a must when working on engines or motorized equipment in the shop.
• Protecting water wells means not farming ground within 70 feet of a well. 
• Fertilizing ground near surface water features — lakes, ponds, rivers and streams — requires a 500-feet setback.
• And if you spill anhydrous ammonia, leave the area immediately and call 911.

Safety training consultant Rob Doremus of Alabama-based Hensley Consulting Services Inc. brought his rescue training trailer to Escanaba to showcase confined-space rescue techniques — essential for farmers and first responders working in dangerous grain bins, silos and other tight spots. 

An overview of hazmat spill-response topics was followed by techniques necessary for safety handling bulk pesticides, fungicide and fertilizers. 

On the equipment end of the agenda were sessions focused on the many dangers of power takeoffs (PTO shafts), chopper equipment, shut-offs, hydraulics and much more.

Farm Bureau says: Safety is priority #1! 

For more on this event, check out this coverage from WLUC, TV-6 in Negaunee, and this from WZMQ, 19 News in Marquette.