Minooka Grain Bin Rescue 'Was A Success'

MINOOKA, IL —A man was rescued from a grain elevator in downtown Minooka on Thursday afternoon. The emergency happened around 12:45 p.m. By 4:20 p.m., a large crew of emergency responders were finally able to free the man, according to Elwood Fire Chief Bill Offerman, who served as the public information officer on the multi-agency emergency call.

"He's out and he's feeling good," Offerman told Patch, adding that it would be up to the man on whether he wanted to go to the hospital for additional care.

When firefighters and emergency responders arrived at the scene in Minooka, the man was buried waist deep inside the large silo of grain, Offerman said.

The man was found to be stable, conscious and breathing, Offerman added. Police and fire vehicles were on the scene all afternoon near Mondamin and Massasoit streets working to free the man from all the grain.

Offerman said it was taking crews several hours to remove all the grain, which was being done with large vacuum tube instruments. The grain mishap occurred at the Minooka Grain and & Lumber company, 202 W. Mondamin St.

"My father works there. The rescue was a success. No fatalities," one woman wrote on the Joliet Patch Facebook page.

About 20 emergency vehicles were on the scene, including Minooka, the Joliet Fire Department, Plainfield Fire Protection District Special Operations, Oswego, Channahon, Wilmington, Morris and Bristol-Kendall.