The Wisconsin State Farmer has reported that the Rural Firefighters Delivering Agriculture Safety and Health (RF-DASH) program has appointed its first full-time trainer to support safety efforts on farms and ranches in the United States.
Tim Zehnder has taken on the new role, bringing with him over three decades of experience in both firefighting and agricultural emergency response.
Zehnder’s position is supported by the CHS Foundation and the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center.
RF-DASH trains rural fire departments to promote emergency preparedness and reduce hazards on agricultural sites.
The program is based on research from the National Farm Medicine Center, which found that farmers view rural emergency responders as trustworthy sources of safety information.
The RF-DASH program has been active for nine years and now operates in 16 U.S.
states and five Canadian provinces.
To date, over 170 first responders have received direct training through the initiative.
Many of these trainees have since provided similar education to colleagues within their own departments and neighboring fire services.
A virtual Community of Practice meeting was recently launched to support communication among trainers.
The RF-DASH team is also preparing an online version of the training course, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
Zehnder is employed by Ex Environmental and has held multiple roles in fire science education and response.
His career began in Truman, Minnesota, in 1990.
He eventually became fire chief and has since served as fire training program manager at South Central College in North Mankato and director of fire science at Mid-Plains Community College in McCook, Nebraska.
Zehnder worked with the McCook Fire Department until 2020.
He has led trainings in grain bin rescue, farm vehicle extrication, and confined space safety.
He also co-produced a grain bin rescue video for Fire Engineering Books and Videos.
Zehnder said: “I am very excited to take the RF-DASH program to the next level.
“This program brings the rural fire service and the farm and ranch community together to not only make it safer for the responding department, but to give the farm and ranch community the opportunity to make their places safer for their families and employees.”
According to RF-DASH project principal investigator Casper Bendixsen, the team plans to carry out 18 training events across the U.S. grain belt over the next 18 months.
Custom modules on grain harvesting, handling, and storage are currently being developed to support this work.
Bendixsen said: “This is going to be an exciting time for the RF-DASH program.
“We have had so much interest in the training modules from around the country.
“Thanks to new funding from the CHS Foundation, we can finally meet the demand for in-person training at farms that handle grain.”
The RF-DASH program has appointed its first full-time trainer, firefighter Tim Zehnder.
RF-DASH trains rural fire departments in the United States to improve agricultural safety.
The program is supported by the CHS Foundation and the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center.
Zehnder has more than 30 years of experience in firefighting and training.
He has taught fire service courses, including grain bin rescue and farm vehicle extrication.
The RF-DASH program has trained over 170 first responders across 16 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces.
A virtual Community of Practice meeting and an online course version are being launched.
In the next 18 months, RF-DASH will deliver 18 trainings in the U.S. grain belt.
Custom modules on grain handling and storage will be created.
The initiative is supported by the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
