By Mike Gorrell
The Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY — Workers from four Utah coal mines will wrap up four days of events today in a national mine-rescue competition in Nashville, Tenn.
Consol Energy, UtahAmerican Energy, Arch Coal’s Sufco mine and Energy West Mining all have sent teams to the National Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and Preshift Competition, which is sponsored every other year by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
At the 2007 event, participants honored the memory of MSHA inspector Gary Jensen, who was killed a month earlier along with two others rescuers trying to reach six miners buried Aug. 6 in the collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine.
The 2005 competition was held in Price.
Nearly 90 teams from 13 states compete in various contests that test skills critical to saving the lives of underground miners during emergencies.
“Mining tragedies bring home to us, in a monumental way, how essential these teams are to the safety and well-being of miners in this country,” said U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis. “Even in competition, mine-rescue team members hold themselves to the highest of standards.”
All four companies had teams (Consol and Arch had two apiece) in the contest, which was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday. Judges gave teams a problem from a hypothetical mine emergency, then rated them on how well they followed rescue procedures and how quickly they completed specific tasks.
The competition opened Monday with first aid and bench contests. The first-aid phase featured two teams from Energy West Mining, which operates Deer Creek mine, demonstrating the correct method of carrying injured miners. In the bench contest, miners from all four companies inspected breathing devices for problems and corrected deficiencies.
Competition concludes today with a pre-shift event, in which miners are challenged to identify and eliminate existing hazards in an area laid out like a typical mine’s coal “face.”
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