Posted on 07/03/2007 6:17:09 AM PDT by Abathar
RICHMOND, Va. - Deadly methane gas emanating from a dairy farm's manure pit killed five people, including four members of a Mennonite family, authorities said.
Emergency workers speculate each of the victims climbed into the pit in a frantic attempt to rescue the others. "It was a domino effect with one person going in, the second person going after them," Sheriff Don Farley said.
Farley identified the victims as Scott Showalter, 33; his wife, Phyillis, 34; their children, Shayla, 11, and Christina, 9; and Amous Stoltzfus, 24, who worked at the Showalter's dairy farm in the Briery Branch community.
The accident began Monday evening when Scott Showalter tried to transfer manure from one small pit to a larger one, measuring 20 feet by 20 feet and 8 feet deep.
At some point, the pipe that was transferring the manure became clogged, and Scott Showalter climbed in the pit to fix the blockage, Farley said. He apparently was overcome by methane gas, which is a byproduct of the liquefied manure, Farley said.
Emergency workers believe Stoltzfus climbed into the pit in an attempt to rescue Showalter. When the two men didn't come out, Phyillis Showalter and then the couple's two daughters apparently made their way in, all succumbing to the deadly gas.
God be with them.
I miss home, but until Grandholm and the DemonRATic state goobermint (and US Senators) are gone, I’m staying in Indiana.
So they are Utilitarians?.........
We mover here with the business, extended family, the works to get away from them. If things change there I would consider moving back to Brighton, but no way would i go there now.
That will strike fear into the hearts of all these businesses who have set up huge infrastructures in dairying states like California, where they’re hugely capital intensive operations for just the reasons you outline.
I’ve wondered for years why dairymen in states with such nice climates like CA would bother putting up milking parlors, much less the huge rotaries they have there.
A proper electric fence controller will deliver a short, high voltage spike about once per second -- plenty of time to disengage. The concept of the electric fence is to discourage animals, not electrocute them.
This, apparently, was not a “proper” electric fence. And there was ground water involved. This was a widely reported (in that part of Alabama) incident at the time and my mother also remembers the story. Can I swear it happened? No. But I believe it did.
What state are you in? Do you have any pictures of it?
My mobile milking units come with four legs a tail and head and moves themselves around.
How awful!!
At the minimum, they should have had blowers ventilating that pit before they went in.
A friend of my wife’s just called from Chicago last Friday night.
Two guys working on her sewer crew (private firm) went down without gear (simply stupid) and died in the manhole.
People make this mistake constantly, in many industries.
When I was a plant supervisor, I enforced this (and lockout/tagout) with an iron hand.
Damn shame. Very familiar with that area, family there goes back to early 1700’s and I went to school in the ‘Burg. We used to frequent the area up near the Branch for swimming, camping and just general driving around.
Confined spaces eat people up exactly like this, it’s a textbook case for hazmat Health and Safety.
Hydrogen Sulfide H2S, a deadly gas that need not displace oxygen to kill if you smell the “rotten egg” smell its a small amount when that smell goes away then you are in real trouble if you done nothing to disperse it. Its the same basic attitude most people have towards safety that got these farmers killed it takes training to change this mindset, and farmers especially have a mind set of irreducible ignorance that limits their behavioral changes. Its too bad for these people, but I would lay money on it that it was predictable.
Two subcontractors were “eaten” up at the giant Stickney wastewater treatment plant near Chicago recently H2S I believe. I would hazard a guess the usual attitudes a tough guy hold your breath no need for sissie procedures, after the fact its the God has abandoned us crying shtick of the primitive (and god loves lawyers it seems).
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