Ross Twp. Fire Chief Steve Miller said Jay Butterfield was pulled from the silo around 7 p.m. Thursday after about three hours. Miller said Butterfield was treated and released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center this morning.
INITIAL REPORT: Man rescued from Ross Twp. silo; grain up to victim’s chin
Credit: Michael D. Clark
Credit: Michael D. Clark
“We got off the phone with UC about an hour ago and they ran all tests on him last night and all tests came back negative,” Miller said. “He had no traumatic events and he was released this morning. That just tickled me to death.”
The chief said when his crews arrived on scene the grain was up to his chest and they secured him with a rope until they could get a Reily Twp. “grain rescue tube” around him to relieve the pressure.
At one point the grain was up to his chin, according to police dispatch reports.
Butterfield told the Journal-News he didn’t know if he’d make it.
“The first hour or so, I thought they weren’t going to get me out,” he said.
He said the floor stopped him from going any deeper.
“If the floor wasn’t there, I’d have been dead for sure,” Butterfield said. “The grain was on top, and it was coming down while they were working on me.”
Miller gave high praise to all the departments that responded and especially the Butler County Emergency Management Agency and Butler County Technical Rescue Team — a specialized team made up of area fire departments — for the successful mission.
“It was just a great job by everybody,” he said. “It worked the way it should work.”
