The recent rescue of nine trapped coal miners from the Quecreek Mine in Somerset, Pa., illustrates just how important it is for miners to be ready for any emergency.
Twelve regional mine rescue teams from West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Alabama will test their emergency preparedness Aug. 14-15 during the Post 5 mine rescue contest at West Virginia University's Rugby Field and Shell Building on the Evansdale Campus.
Competing rescue teams demonstrate their problem-solving skills during a simulated mine emergency. Six of the top teams return the second day to work through another mine rescue problem, and the winner of the contest will be the team with the lowest score on the second day.
WVU's College of Engineering and Mineral Resources' Mining Extension Service Post 5, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration District 3 and the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training are sponsors.
Three events -- the mine rescue contest, bench contest and first aid contest -- are scheduled. Registration for the mine rescue contest will be from 6-7 a.m. in the Shell Building Wednesday, Aug. 14, with the contest starting at 8 a.m. at Rugby Field. The bench contest starts at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, in the Shell Building, and the final six mine rescue team contest will begin at 7 a.m. on Rugby Field. The first-aid contest starts at noon Thursday in the Shell Building
The mine rescue event tests the rescue teams' ability to evaluate an emergency situation and rescue any surviving miners in an underground coal mine. In the bench contest, the benchman, usually a rescue team member, tests and repairs a self-contained breathing apparatus worn by rescue team members when they go underground.
Rescue teams are assigned the same emergency problem to solve and judged on their procedures and speed. Teams are sequestered until it is their turn to compete.
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