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Farm Safety At Blue Spruce In Bridport

photo by Mike Cameron Top LtoR: Scott Gaines of Gaines Insurance takes aim with an extinguisher. Cows graze in barn at Blue Spruce Farm. Bottom LtoR: Safety seminars underway as Kevin Bourdon directs a fire drill Fire Safety Day last Wednesday. The Audet family at Blue Spruce Dairy Farm, Co-op Insurance Companies & UVM Extension Service presented a series of seminars on farm safety.

Tuesday August 5, 2014

“Fire! Fire! Call 911!,” each participant explained before making a restraining gesture as if holding back someone and then hoisting a fire extinguisher, activating it and squeezing the device handle to release a stream of water and compressed air on a real fire.  The fire was activated in a small modular training device connected by wire to an operators hand held controls.  Very life-like indeed.   Most people have never activated a real fire extinguisher on a real fire but on Wednesday, July 30th 2014 dozens of area farmers and farm workers got that opportunity and they were impressed.
    It was all part of a Farm Safety Day series presented by the Co-Operative Insurance Companies and the UVM Extension Service, all hosted by the Audet Family at Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport right along Route 22A.
The Audets have been Vermont agricultural leaders in Ag science, technology and safety for years.
Their “Cow-Power” methane generation equipment to produce electricity is famous throughout the world.  Wind is also a large part of their energy infrastructure and Solar is also in the picture.  On this comfortable August day SAFETY was the main order of business.
    While hundreds of contented cows enjoyed their forage feast in free stall barns near by, members of the UVM extension and Co-Op were hard at work, “helping individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work.” Which is the mission of UVM extension.
Loss Control Representative Kevin Bourdon a long time Co-Op member agency, was in charge of the fire extinguishing demonstration and did a great job helping those in attendance to learn not to burn if and when a fire breaks out on the farm or in their home or business.  “Twist it first,” Kevin encourages a participant as the safety pin on an extinguisher needs a little twist before it can be pulled free to activate the device.  “Aim at the base of the flame,” another instructor encourages, his name is George Cook and his business is farm safety.  George is with UVM's maple and Farm Safety Program.
    A stone's throw away folks in attendance have enjoyed a great lunch prepared by Pratt's Catering of Bridport and are listening to another seminar on CPR, on the job first aid and other related subjects.
Everything is hands-on so that folks who are there can actually do what they will need to do in an actual emergency.  It's all about muscle memory in the safety business.
    Barn Safety, Tips for Motorists and Farm Tractor and Equipment Operators on public roads, Smoke Alarms, Home Exit Drills, Safe Use Dairy Chemicals, Children on the Farm and their special needs for safety, A Family Fire Safety Evaluation Guide, Hay and how to store it Safely, How to evacuate livestock during a fire, and other important safety areas of concern were either discussed or leave-behind information was available to those who attended.
    Our thanks to Leo Larocque, Farm Safety & Risk Management Specialist Co-Op Insurance Companies of Middlebury for the invite to cover this important event.  If one person left the seminars and was favorably informed about safety on the farm, the roll-over effect will have been immeasurable.
    For further information on farm safety and future Farm Safety Days you can contact Leo at [email protected], Kevin at [email protected] or [email protected].  The University of Vermont Extension website is www.uvm.edu/extension.
    There were other members of the Co-Op and the UVM Extension Service who were hard at work on this day and we want to acknowledge that even though we were unable to speak to everyone personally during our coverage of Farm Safety Day at Blue Spruce Farm.

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