First responders are trained and well practiced for emergencies that are of high frequency, low risk such as carbon monoxide and roadway incidents. However, farms pose as a low frequency, high risk emergency to many first responders. This introductory module introduces them to and discusses the causes of the most common farm emergencies, including strategies to expedite and improve responses to them.

Responding to emergencies on agricultural sites can be as dangerous as working there. Farms have machinery, chemicals, flammable agents, multi-story structures, unique electrical systems, to name a few challenges that place unique hazards to rescue personnel. Responders need to have a  planned response for the farms in their service area to reduce this risk. This module includes instructional use of Farm-MAPPER, a free, online, mobile-friendly tool, that gives fire departments the ability to pre-plan and map farms, expediting response times in the event of a emergency.

The goal of this module is to help with the identification of common hazards found on farms.  Most individuals understand the need to identify farm hazards, however that is only one stage of the goal in managing hazards and risks.  Farm hazards must also be evaluated and ranked in priority. These three stages tend to cyclical as opposed to being discrete, sequential steps. Saferfarm.org and the Farm Hazard Analysis Tool (FARM-HAT)provides everyone the ability to correct hazards and reduce the risk of injury on farms.   

Most farmers and their families will not have any formal training in emergency response and first aid, and with the wide range of different hazards on farms, the probability of an incident is high. Knowing the correct response can improve a stressful situation and lead to better patient outcomes. This module aims to educate farm family members and employees how to manage a victim injured in a farm incident while emergency services are en route to the scene.

This module covers methods on how to reach out and approach the farming community to implement the RF-DASH program on their area’s operations.