The Rippey Fire Department in conjunction with the Friends of Rippey reached their fundraising goal for new fire and rescue equipment for the City.

Mary Weaver, vice-president of the Friends of Rippey says they received $668 grant from the Greene County Community Foundation and another $1,000 donation from Rippey’s Heartland Cooperative with the City’s fire department making up the rest of the $2,750 grain bin rescue equipment.

She states that this equipment includes 18-inch wide plexi-glass sections that surround the victims inside of a grain bin to serve as a shield against suffocation.  The equipment stays around the victim until the grain is removed and the victim is extricated.

Weaver points out that there haven’t been any issues with people getting stuck in grain bins in Greene County, but that other counties have the rescue equipment and so they wanted to purchase just as a precaution and to be better prepared if a situation like that arises.

She notes that a training session will be conducted by the Fire Service Training Bureau from the State Fire Marshall’s office.  It will be done in Rippey on August 9th and fire personnel from Perry, Dawson, Grand Junction, Churdan and Jefferson have been invited to learn how to use the rescue tubes.