Pennsylvania miners donned gas masks and worked a 75-minute rescue scenario during the 2015 National Coal Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench, and Preshift Competition.
Rob Hutchinson is a federal coal mine inspector with 30 years experience as an underground miner. Hutchinson says this type of competition can help if a real disaster occurs. “If they actually have to go into a burning mine, they have to trust the people outside in the command center, you know, people telling them what to do. They also have to trust each other, because you’re under ground with four or five other guys that you are counting on,” said Hutchinson.
Alabama miner Blake Bolton called the competition scenario a ‘fair, straight up problem that picks your brain.’ When it comes to safety in the mine, the Tuscaloosa coal miner says long hours, long weeks and negligence still leads to slips, falls, and injuries. “Comes to a point where people get negligent. You know, you’ve been there all day, six days a week, ten hours a day. Something happens, where you got to get the work done. You got several people working and safety, sometimes, goes out the window,” said Bolton.
Hutchinson, meanwhile, says one of the big benefits of the competition is fostering cooperation in problem solving. Hutchinson says similar exercises are done at mine sites. ?
