ORLEANS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Dozens of fire department workers from around Ionia County spent hours rescuing a man trapped in a grain bin Friday afternoon.
The incident involved a 62-year-old man and occurred in the 4200 block of Ostrum Road.
Orleans Township Fire Chief Ron Hill told FOX 17 that "it was a complicated rescue."
He said two other departments were called in — the Belding Fire Department and the Lake Odessa Fire Department — because "they had the tools and the expertise."
Hill said a minimum of 40 people from the three departments were involved in the extrication, which took a total of two hours. He said the man was trapped in soybeans up to his waist about halfway down the grain bin.
After removing the soybeans with an auger, "they were able to get him out," said Hill. "Hats off to Tim Lubitz, the Belding fire chief. He was in charge of the operations."
Ambulance workers then checked the man over and wanted to take him to the hospital, but "he denied transport," according to Hill.
"This was a great outcome," said Hill. "You normally don't have a great outcome in that kind of call."
He also praised the coordinated effort of the three departments working together.
"That's what mutual aid is all about," said Hill.
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