Fairview Fire Emergency Preparedness

On April 30, 2015, an emergency preparedness drill was conducted at the Gavilon Grain facility in Fairview, MT, in conjunction with the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department. A scenario was developed where a Gavilon employee entered a large grain bin in order to sweep and clean the structure. It was simulated that the employee either had a medical emergency or was overcome by some type of atmospheric condition. At 4:41 p.m., the location simulated an emergency 911 call to local first responders. Members of the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department and the local ambulance service arrived on site and quickly assessed the situation with local Gavilon management. Fire fighters ensured grain handling equipment was powered off and checked the atmosphere inside the grain bin with testing monitors to make sure conditions were safe for fire department personnel to enter. Fire fighters quickly placed the Gavilon employee on a back board and moved him out of the bin through a small side hatch.

Once outside, EMTs medically assessed the employee. At 5:15 p.m. the drill was concluded with a tour of the facility in order to orient the fire department to the layout of the facility. Later in the evening, the emergency responders and Gavilon employees met for dinner and an after-action review to discuss lessons learned through the drill. Stuart Beckman, Regional Operations Manager for Gavilon's north region, was on site to evaluate the drill and commented, "The local fire department did an outstanding job. They responded quickly and appropriately for the mock incident that occurred. Many of the firefighters were area farmers and were knowledgeable about grain bin and confined space entry procedures."