Myra Falls Wins 2008 Provincial Mine Rescue Competition
Mine Rescue is a very specialized task and an essential part of mining, despite the fact that we operate our mines with the intention of never having to use it. Mine Rescue members are trained to respond to emergencies in the mine which range from fire to “cave-ins” to gas or water inundation. When an emergency arises at a mine and the workforce is being evacuated from the mine, the mine rescue teams are often heading into the mine with the objective of recovering or making safe any miners at risk or unaccounted for.
In Canada, mine rescue members are volunteers from the workforce who are given extensive training and are then tested under a Provincial or Territorial authority before they are certified. Once a member is certified, regular training takes place so that they maintain their familiarity with the mine workings as well as rescue equipment and procedures. And, to ensure members stay in top form, an annual competition is held in each province to demonstrate rescue skills in front of a panel of judges and to take home the much coveted Mine Rescue Trophy.
Myra Falls Operations is no stranger to success when it comes to mine rescue competition. The distinction of provincial champions has been bestowed on its members 10 times previously, with wins in 1977, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. And despite some last minute changes to the team roster this year, and some key positions being carried out in competition for the first time, the MFO team was able to bring home the big prize for the 11th time this year.
This year’s team demonstrated the highest level of teamwork leading to winning the Obstacle and Recovery Task, the First Aid Task, and also were crowned the provincial champions for underground mine rescue. The member acting as coordinator also received the award for “Best Coordinator of the Year”.
The annual competition serves to showcase the skills of the mine rescue volunteers from the various mines throughout the province and is a valuable training tool for new members. It is a task oriented competition that includes, fire fighting, first aid, practical bench, donning bench, written test and the obstacle & recovery. The various tasks are summarized below:
Obstacle and Recovery - A mock mine is built and the teams are given a scenario in which there is a fire somewhere in the mine and there are miners unaccounted for. The teams have to explore the mine safely and recover any missing men by following the principals of mine rescue. This usually involves controlling the fire and the ventilation in the mine.
First Aid - This task involves some sort of accident in which there are multiple casualties. The team has to secure the scene, triage and administer first aid to all the victims.
Donning Bench – The team is required to check over and prepare their self contained breathing apparatus for use following established procedures.
Fire Fighting – The team is required to extinguish a fire by using proper application techniques.
Practical Bench – This event varies from year to year, but usually involves team members answering questions about some of the equipment or demonstrating its use. Sometimes there is a scenario where the team must perform a rope rescue. This year’s event was a confined space scenario where the team had to ventilate the confined space, perform first aid on a casualty and then perform a rope rescue.
Written – Each team member is given a multiple choice exam containing questions about mine rescue.
Breakwater Resources Ltd. is extremely proud of the success of the 2008 Provincial Mine Rescue Champions. The practice of Mine Rescue is crucial to our industry and the dedication and commitment of its members to this noble task is highly commended.
2008 Provincial Mine Rescue ChampionsLeft to Right : Murray Markle (Coach), Keith Notter, Al Butler, Paul Bresson,
Pat Langlois (Coordinator), Greg Palmer (Captain), Gary Boutilier (Vice Captain)