Members of multiple fire departments joined an Illinois Fire Institute training program held at the Iron Saddle in Salem on Saturday to learn how to handle large animals involved in accidents and mishaps.
Salem Assistant Fire Chief and Illinois Fire Institute instructor Bill Fulton put together the program, noting the livestock industry represents five percent of the state’s economy.
“We’ve had a lot of requests from both horse owners and livestock owners, what happens when a trailer rolls over, what happens if my horse gets off in a pond or something. So, myself and another instructor for the U of I developed this program, and we teach it around the state wherever it is needed. It is important for guys to understand the basics of how to handle livestock if we need to move them off the side of the interstate, if we have to get a horse out of a pond, or maybe they fall through the ice. or something like that.”
Roy Landers of Iron Saddle provided the funding.
“We think it is necessary. There are a lot of accidents that happen with animals. If you’re not trained in how to pick up an animal that weighs 1,200 or 1,000 pounds, then it is going to be a challenge.”
Those taking the training spent time learning how to move livestock and assisting a life-size fake horse that has been injured and needs to be moved.
Firefighters under the direction of Bill Funton prepare to move an injured horse to be moved. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Firemen learn to move cows at a drill Saturday to help them learn how to handle large animals during a drill at Iron Saddle. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
