Crews rescue man trapped in corn bin on Cedar Rapids farm

Hunter
01/28/22

A joint effort between firefighters and the city’s Public Works Department made the rescue of a Cedar Rapids man trapped in a corn bin Thursday afternoon possible.

According to a release from the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, they were called to perform the rescue at a farm on Tharp Road Southwest. The victim was trapped in corn up to his chest after a cavity below gave way and sucked the man down into the grain.

Crews from Cedar Rapids and Swisher used rescue technology to deploy isolation panels around the victim. Cedar Rapids Public Works sent large vacuum trucks to help move the grain trapping him. He was removed from the silo through a hole cut in the side.

A post on the Department’s Facebook page indicated that the rescue was made even more difficult because one side of the corn remained higher than the other and threatened to engulf the man. The post added that firefighters had to employ the specialized tools they had, along with what they called “an exceptional level of finesse” to perform the rescue.

The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.