“The teams are challenged mentally and physically on how to deal with irrespirable and explosive gases, ignition sources, roof falls, unsafe roofs, recovery of victims and care of patients,” said MSHA office of public affairs representative Suzy Bohnert. “They are also exposed to challenges dealing with the mine ventilation system and quick decision-making in an emergency situation.”
Mine teams from all over the US (46 teams from 10 states) travelled to take part and reveal their skills in the annual contest, and those who proved fastest and most effective at their task took home honours in seven categories.
Taking home the gold in the First Aid competition was Eastern Association Coal’s Southern Appalachian team led by Harvey Farrell, followed by Eastern Association Coal’s Southern Appalachian team headed by Jackie Repass and Energy West Mining’s Silver Team, led by Gary Christensen.
First place in Drager BG 174-A was Tom Bochna from Emerald No. 1, with second and third going to Todd Watson from Paradise No. 9 and Harry McGinnis from Federal No. 2, respectively.
The Drager B4 contest was taken by Kyle Blair of Eastern Association’s Southern Appalachian team. Second place went to David Blankenship, also from the Southern Appalachia team, and third place was earned by Brandon Sommers from Twentymile Coal.
In the Biopak competition, Carlos Bueno from San Juan Coal’s Black Team took top honurs. Second place was awarded to Todd Cheney, also from the Black Team, and Shawn Miller from Willow Lake mine took home third.
A combination Mine Rescue and First Aid contest was also held, with the Eastern Association Southern Appalachia Team taking first place. The JWR No. 4 Team and Highland No. 9 Team took home second and third.
Overall winners and winners by day were chosen in the mine rescue section. Day 1’s top award went to Pinnacle Mining’s Pinnacle Team, and Day 2 went to JWR Mine No. 4.
However, Pinnacle came up aces. It took first place overall, followed by the Bailey Team from Consol in second and the Southern Appalachia Team in third.
Finally, in the Preshift Examiners’ competition, Wayne Stafford from Southern Appalachia Operations came out on top. The runners up were David Shackleford from Lone Mountain Processing and Tom Bochna from Emerald’s No. 1 Team.
With so many teams competing in each section of the events, competition was tough – but MSHA notes that the exercises are important in keeping teams in top mental shape for the real thing. “Since the exercises are conducted on the surface instead of in an actual underground mine, the problems are geared more toward quick thinking and mental challenges,” Bohnert said. “The more experienced a team is in dealing with real-life situations, the better they perform in competitions.”
She added that using top technology was imperative in the contests, especially in terms of oxygen supply – taken for granted on the surface but obviously scarcely available during many mine accidents. “All rescue team members wear a four-hour, self-contained breathing apparatus, which recycles the air exhaled by the wearer.
“The three types used in [this] contest are the Drager BG 174A, Drager BG4 and Biomarine,” said Bohnert, noting that rescued patients can use a SCBA (a self-rescuer) with a one-hour capacity.
Real or simulated, safety is also of vital importance. While the trend in Australian mines leans more towards keeping rescue teams away from a scene, Bohnert notes that US mines go on a case-by-case basis with safety as top priority. “All teams and decision-makers are trained that the first priority in any mine emergency of rescue and recovery is team safety.
“We have had at least one instance in the last several years where an exploring rescue team was withdrawn from the mine and the victims were not recovered until weeks later when conditions were determined to be safer. As always, the first priority is team safety, because we don’t want to make a bad situation worse,” Bohnert said.
This year’s contest was the 42nd of its kind, held in Louisville since 1965. The event got its start in Pittsburgh, however, in 1911, with then-president William Howard Taft in attendance.
