A Co. Longford farming couple narrowly escaped a near-fatal incident involving slurry fumes which left both of them unconscious last week – prompting a warning to farmers to be mindful of such dangers when agitating.
The incident occurred last Thursday (August 19) on the farm of Mervyn and Iris Clendenning, who were overcome by slurry fumes. They are both now on the mend thanks to the quick actions of Mervyn’s brother Stewart and local agricultural contractor Mervyn Waters.
Speaking to Agriland about the incident, the couple’s son Trevor highlighted the experience as an eye-opener in terms of how fast it occurred.
“My father was just finished milking the cows and Mervin had just started the agitating when Dad had let the cows out of the parlour. He was starting to wash down the parlour,” Trevor explained.
“My uncle Stewart was there as well; he’s visually impaired but he helps every day with the milking.
“Dad at one stage said to Stewart that there was a smell or something, saying ‘come on, get out of here’. There are four steps out of the pit in the parlour – and when he got to the top of the steps he just collapsed and fell back down and cracked his head off the concrete floor.
“The parlour is attached to the shed; it’s probably a 10-bay shed and there are seven bays of slats. The rest is just where the cows stand and the parlour is at the end of it. It’s a big wide, open shed; it’s very open – all the doors are always open and there’s a high roof on it.”
After Mervyn fell unconscious, Stewart – who did not have a phone on him – couldn’t get to the contractor, so instead made his way to the farmhouse to alert Iris.
“She ran straight out to see what was going on and as soon as she saw Dad on the pit floor she rang the ambulance. She was talking to the ambulance and they asked her ‘are you near the patient?’ She went down to him and as she was talking to the ambulance – within 30 seconds she was knocked out with the fumes,” Trevor said.
As luck would have it, Mervyn Waters came over to the parlour – to find the Clendennings knocked out on the floor of the pit.
Having left his phone on the tractor while agitating the slurry, Waters managed to pull Iris out through the dairy to the yard and fresh air, during which time emergency services rang Iris’s phone, which he answered.
Having updated emergency services, Waters tried to pull Trevor’s father to safety but was unable to get him further than the top steps of the parlour.
However, Trevor explained: “At that time, my sister was dropping the jeep back; her husband was fixing it for an NCT the next day. She came into the yard and saw my mother sprawled out on the ground.
“Her first instinct was to run down to the parlour to come and help – as soon as she got in there Mervyn dragged her over straight away.
“She was able to help Mervyn to grab Dad and pull him out of the parlour thankfully. About 10 or 15 minutes later the ambulance came around.
“Mervyn had rang a few neighbours as well to come and help so they were all trying to calm the situation and keep Mam and Dad calm, but Mam was unconscious at the time.
“They went to Mullingar and it all worked out in the end. Dad is still in there now but hopefully he’ll be out in the next few days,” Trevor said.
Urging other farmers to learn from his family’s slurry experience, he said: “It’s such a warning for anyone to be so careful and not take any chances – it’s not worth the risk.
“Just the way things worked out was pure chance – they’re blessed that there were people there who could raise the alarm and there were people who were able to help and get them out. Thankfully Mervyn or Stewart didn’t go down as well or it would have been a very different outcome.
“It really doesn’t bear thinking about what could have happened,” he stressed.
“Hopefully people will hear this story and learn from it – to think twice when you’re doing these things; just to be aware of your surroundings and aware of what’s happening around you.
“We had great help from neighbours and family and friends over the last few days, they’ve been brilliant – too many people to name – but they’ve all been a massive help.
“We’re very lucky with very good neighbours; it’s a farming community and everyone looks out for each other,” Trevor concluded.