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| First Surface Mine Rescue Competition East of the Mississippi
By Ken Heintz, New Jersey Mine Safety Education and Jon Montgomery, MSHA-EFS Reprinted from the Holmes Safety Association Bulletin (Sept/Oct 2008) Download this article in PDF format (2.5 Mb) On August 2, 2008, the New Jersey Aggregate Safety Council hosted the "First Surface Mine Rescue Competition East of the Mississippi." MSHA and NJDOL co-hosted the event at the Trap Rock plant in Kingston, New Jersey. This event came about through three years of hard work by many people. August 2nd was a dismal morning with a forecast of possible thunderstorms. People started arriving at 7:30am and expectations were high. The electrical power was out in the area, so it was a slow start for registration. Because of the power outage, Kevin Jones, Contest Director and President of the New Jersey Aggregate Council made his opening remarks outside the main building. The rules were explained by Jon Montgomery of MSHA-EFS and Bret Park of the Northeast District. As soon as there was enough light, the contest officials took the three participating teams in for stage one, a written fifty (50) question First Aid test. After the teams finished, they drew lots to determine the order in which they would compete. The Problem A mechanic is changing a front tire on a truck and drops a tool, which bounces beneath the truck. The mechanic reaches under the truck with one of his legs to retrieve the tool. The jack then collapses, pinning his leg beneath the suspension of the truck. As each team came out of isolation, Head Judge Mike Pruitt gave them directions and the problem. Each team had 5 minutes to preview and familiarize themselves with all the equipment they would need and be able to use during the competition. When the Team Captain said they were ready, the clock began. The time limit was 30 minutes. The Kingston Fire Company was the first team to compete. The team consists of volunteer fire fighters from the local firehouse, none of them are miners. The second group to compete was the team from Braen Stone Industries. They are an in-house rescue team which includes volunteer firemen and EMTs. Although the team has little practice and training together, they did an excellent job. The third team was Tilcon's Mt. Hope Plant. They were another in-house rescue group made up of volunteer firemen and EMT personnel. As the third team started, there was a bit of rumbling in the sky. Bad weather had been threatening us all day, but it held off until we were waiting for the scores. Final scores for the teams were based on 75% from the problem-solving portion and 25% from the written test. It was a very close contest, with only one full point between first and third places. The judges had to be very precise in their scoring. There were only winners in this mine rescue competition - the first of many to come. The Results
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