By D. Jack Alkire
The Pantagraph
FLANAGAN, Ill. — One person was freed from a grain bin in Livingston County on Thursday after a rescue effort involving multiple agencies and help from two local construction companies, authorities said.
The rescue took place at 17052 N. 500 East Road in Flanagan, according to a statement from the Pontiac Fire Department. Crews from the Pontiac department and Flanagan-Graymont Fire Protection District were sent to the scene at 3:18 p.m.
Arriving firefighters worked to deploy a grain bin rescue tube, a device that shields the trapped person from the full pressure of the surrounding material. An incident commander from the Pontiac Fire Department reached out to Opperman Construction and Linco-Precision LLC, both of which responded with a vacuum truck that helped to remove the grain from around the trapped person.
Also called to the scene were members of a technical rescue team from the Normal Fire Department, the Gridley Fire Department and Life Flight, which was placed on standby. The person was freed at 4:48 p.m. and transported to a hospital in stable condition, according to the statement. Authorities did not release the person’s age, gender or any other identifying details.
Matt Swaney, public information officer for Normal Fire Department, confirmed Thursday night that one person had been removed from a corn silo and transported to a local hospital. The Normal department was called in for support by the Flanagan-Graymont Fire Protection District, Swaney said.
The Pontiac Fire Department praised the efforts of residents at the scene and multiple collaborating agencies, including: Flanagan-Graymont Fire Protection District, Gridley Fire Department, Normal Fire Department (technical rescue team), Livingston County Sheriff’s Department, Life Flight, Opperman Construction, Linco-Precision LLC and V-Com Dispatch Center.
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