Skip to content

B.C. Mine Rescue Competition challenges the best

The B.C. Mine Rescue Competition returned to Revelstoke, pitting 13 teams in a series of underground and surface tasks.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Members of the Coal Mountain Mine rescue team move in to put out a fire during one of the tests the teams went through.


The B.C. Mine Rescue Competition returned to Revelstoke for the third year in a row and, as usual, the teams were put through the ringer with events that ranged from the spectacular to the intense.

The winners were:

Three Person First Aid – Huckleberry Mine Ltd

Surface Mine Rescue – Coal Mountain Operation, Teck Coal

Underground Mine Rescue – New Afton, New Gold Inc.

This year the province added a new exhibition event to the competition. The Mutual Aid Scramble mixed the teams in a trial designed to test teamwork and cooperation. The winning team “Blue” consisted of representatives from Peace River Coal, Quinsam Coal, Nyrstar, Coal Mountain, Wolverine and Gibraltar.

Here's a sample of the scenarios the 13 competing teams went through:

Three-person First Aid: Two workers were working on a conveyor belt. The one worker did not lock out the machine prior to fixing it and the other worker turned in on. It malfunctioned, knocking one of the workers to the ground and catching the other worker in the rollers. The first casualty has experience an electrical shock and is unconscious with irregular breathing. The second has an amputated hand and is in severe shock.

Fire task: The fire task is made up of three different fires, each requiring extinguishing by two team members using 20-pound cartridges. Each team member is judged on the technique required to successfully extinguish each fire. The fires are designed so that two team members must work in pairs to successfully extinguish the fires.

Practical skills task (surface): During a routine site check, the site supervisor arrives at an exploration drill site to discover an incident. One person has been hurt due to a possible explosion and another person is missing. While ensuring the safety of the team, the captain must ensure control of the team, the captain must ensure control of the task and all actions of his team to stabilize the injured worker and located and treat the missing worker.

Extrication task (surface): The teams have been called to an incident involving a delivery van at a shop. A gas cylinder that was not well secured began to leak helium, causing a low oxygen atmosphere in the cab. The van driver became overwhelmed and subsequently crashed his vehicle into the shop, dislodging a truck being serviced, pinning a worker.

Rope task (surface): The surface rope task will require teams to gain access to a simulated surge bin that is under construction. A worker has fallen from a ladder, is injured and requires rescue. The team must recognize the bin as a confined space and take the appropriate precautions prior to entering it.

Practical skill task (underground): The patient has reached into a vessel to retrieve an article. While doing so, he was overcome by a low-oxygen atmosphere and has fallen into the vessel. The teams are charged with safely assessing and extracting the casualty.

First aid (underground): The team will be summoned to an underground shop setting where there has been an explosion and there are multiple casualties.

Obstacle and recovery (underground): The object of this scenario is to explore the entire simulated mine, find the missing workers, discover the source of the smoke, take care of any hazards encountered, assess the situation and find a solution for the ventilation problem to safely remove the workers from the mine.