Safety first at Cargill

Cargill, Inc., the largest private corporation in the U.S., was on stage last Saturday, on the company's Blooming Prairie property.

Many of Cargill’s Blooming Prairie employees participated in a highly dramatized safety drill. The drill was produced by Loan Trinh, Cargill’s safety director. Trinh involved 60 people in an exercise that lasted over three hours.

Responders took part in three different scenarios throughout the training session.

The first one was a scene where an employee was injured in a chemical tank. The Blooming Prairie Ambulance crew was first on the scene. The BP Fire Department came next. It was a team rescue.

The second scenario involved an employee pinned beneath a barrel. The BP Fire Department made the rescue, after which a critique was held near the site of the accident.

Two dummies were used as part of the training.

“I think the dummy was better looking than Al (a fellow employee),” said a fast-thinking employee who pulled one of the dummies from the fire.

In the final scenario, drill participants were divided into teams. Team 4 won the contest, as the first team to find a missing bear.

Cargill plant manager Michael Green said he was impressed by a team that developed a plan for when a stressed person was rescued after being trapped in a small fire.

Cargill employees emphasized the need to always make a head count daily because the plant is operated 24/7.

Three ambulance crew members, Karissa Fawver, Miranda Camery and Angie Laskewirz led safety rescues.