Overview

• The Lancaster County coroner identified the victim as Samuel King, 29, who lived on the property, with the case classified as a farm accident and the cause of death still pending.
• Emergency crews were dispatched around 12:30 p.m. Saturday to the 100 block of Geist Road in Upper Leacock Township and found King unresponsive inside a concrete silo.
• Upper Leacock Fire Chief Larry Miller said the victim died after inhaling “silo gas,” and responders ventilated the structure, monitored air quality and used supplied-air breathing equipment during a planned recovery.
• Garden Spot Fire Rescue said the 60-foot silo had been filled about two days earlier with a high-moisture corn product, conditions that can generate nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide during fermentation.
• Officials reported more silo-gas incidents this season with warm, humid weather, and health guidance advises ventilation, atmospheric monitoring and waiting periods before entry after filling.