Note: We are republishing this story to raise awareness about the Mike Biadasz Memorial Fund for Farm Safety and Education. To find out more, visit their Facebook page here and their website here.
The farmer and sixteen of his cattle perished in a bizarre accident when a “deadly air dome” exploded in a Wisconsin farm’s manure storage tank.
Michael Biadasz, a 29-year-old farmer from Amherst, Wisconsin, died of gas poisoning on his family farm after being knocked unconscious by methane or sulfur oxide fumes, according to WAOW. Sixteen cows died on the farm, including the initial deaths of thirteen animals and the subsequent deaths of three more.
Bob Biadasz, the 29-year-old’s father and co-owner of Biadasz Farms, says a “perfect storm” of unusual and unforeseen weather conditions caused the disaster. When the tank was ready to be pumped, the gases were trapped in an air dome by the high temperatures of the upper air, which injured Michael and the animals.
Biadasz was already dead when other workers arrived to begin emptying the excrement tank.
“The family is absolutely devastated,” Scott Rifleman, Portage County Coroner, told WAOW.
Rifleman told WSAW that because gas poisoning deaths typically occur in enclosed areas, the event is even more surprising. According to the coroner, the air pressure prevented the gases from escaping.
The coroner then explained that an investigation was underway to determine the exact cause of Biadasz’s death. Rifleman claimed Biadasz had safely emptied the same tank hundreds of times before the horrific incident.
The Biadasz family placed a line of tractors and other machinery along the road that passes near the farm as a memorial to Michael. Parked vehicles include Michael’s black pickup truck, numerous red trucks, and a blue tractor.
“As if farmers’ lives weren’t already dangerous enough, this family had to suffer this freak accident,” one user wrote on Facebook in response to the article. “This is so depressing.”
»Following this tragic event, many people are calling for more regulations to be put in place on manure storage tanks to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future. According to All That’s News, the National Agriculture Safety Database recommends that spaces used to store livestock be adequately ventilated and that warning signs be placed nearby.
According to the NASD, “owners should be encouraged to follow a few precautionary measures to protect both workers and livestock from harmful gases from manure, in addition to following proper construction and maintenance procedures for storage facilities liquid manure.
»Five members of a Virginia family perished in a similar tragic event in 2007 when a pipe blockage caused a deadly buildup of methane gas, according to WASW.
