Be Careful How
You Store Equipment!
Over
the last year, three Iowa farm children were killed in similar
incidents while playing on their farms. In each case, equipment
was stored in a dangerous position, and eventually fell on the
child who was playing or climbing on the equipment. Each child
died from severe crush injuries after being pinned to the ground.
We want to alert farm parents about this danger, to encourage them to walk through their farm areas, eliminating hazardous situations, and to change procedures for storage of equipment that is accessible to small children.
The circumstances surrounding these tragic deaths are frequently encountered on farms. In each case, the stored equipment contained a hidden danger, and in retrospect, all three deaths appear to be preventable. A brief summary of these events is as follows:
Case #1 In May, 1998, a seven-year-old girl died from an injury at her home farm. Her father found her in the farmyard, pinned beneath a round bale fork. This hay fork mounts on a front-end loader, and is used to move large round bales of hay. It had a solid vertical frame with attachment points for the loader, with two short spikes and two long spikes protruding to the front. The hay fork was off the tractor, sitting in grass adjacent to the farm driveway, spikes pointing forwards. Apparently the girl was playing on the hay fork when it tipped over backwards and fell on her. The fork was rather top heavy and un-supported, therefore, the weight of a child was enough to tip it over, and it fell flat to the ground (see photo). The hay fork weighed about 300 pounds.
Case #2 In July, 1998, a six-year-old boy was killed while playing in a farm building at his parent's farm. The boy's father had apparently purchased a piece of equipment recently, which was still in a wooden crate. An older brother had backed the farm truck into a building and slid the crate off the edge of the pickup, then leaned the crate up on edge against a wall. The crate had horizontal wooden members, similar to a pallet, and the boy apparently was climbing up the side of the crate when it fell over on top of him. The crate weighed about 400 lbs.
Case #3 In February, 1999, a four-year-old girl was killed while playing on the farm where she lived. She was reported as missing around suppertime. After a two-hour search, the girl was found pinned under a utility trailer, which had been leaning against a farm building. The small single-axle trailer had its axle at the rear, which made it very convenient to store by simply raising the tongue and leaning it against a farm building. However the frame had horizontal sections, which enabled the child to climb. The height of the tongue against the wall was approximately six feet.
In each case, a piece of equipment was stored in a position hazardous to children . Although the equipment was not large compared to other machinery on a farm, it was top heavy, and able to cause serious injury if it fell on a child. Each piece of equipment was attractive to youngsters, with horizontal members, inviting climbing and exploration.
It is important to teach children about these hazards on the farm. However, children may still climb and play on anything that is handy and in easy reach. To eliminate similar injuries in the future, please consider the following recommendations:
