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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-05-13, Page 21Rescue Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - Page A21 etition • •�x.�FC:'vzh i'!<;J�F.Y/rf.'6'/.,y.... � • i:F ";.i ^'4i.4v+�..:,:u; .:r:/.e..v.�:....' .. '.•:gip. . `AYA fMVt i 5fff f. hr Y ! otos byDave`Syes embers of the Sifto Mine Rescue Team competed <n the annual two-day mine rescue competition held In Goderich at the Memorial Arena last week. In the photo (top left) Two Man, Jim Ahrens, assists team captain, Pete Kohnert with his breathing apparatus and the pair compare notes in the centre photo :before heading in to the mine. In the photo above}, rescue team members, Matt Drennan, Vice Captain Rick Kennedy and Jack Miller, help get an injured miner on a stretcher during the simulated exercises. zr >'� : s`.. '' �"` In the photo below at left, Miller helps an injured Rtmeromonw. . " worker trapped in a pickup truck while Kennedy and Ahrens attend to a miner pinned beneath the truck. CanadianGsumCorDoration wins rescue v� ftO ''eRg0 4,1W- a From page 1 rescue operator at Sifto. "They've just been called to an emergency at the mine." After briefing, the rescue teams got straight to work, first making sure that required equipment \vas in place and ready and each team member checked to ensure that life-saving equipment could be de- ployed properly and was in work- ing order. Tarn Taylor, Mine Rescue Ser- vice Officer and a representitive of the Mine and Aggregate Health and Safety Association, oversees the mining district south of Parry Sound and said the mine rescue competition tests and validates the hours of training that team mem- bers go through. "The Occupational Health -and Safety Act requires that mining op- erations have emergency response capabilities and since local fire and ambulance cannot be underground the rescue team is basically those organizations," he said. "the mine provides the manpower and our or- ganization provides the equipment and training. It is funded through a special WSIB levy and basically the user pays." Rescue team members complete a basic 40 -hour training course certified by the Ministry of Labour and that is followed by six, eight- hour sessions per year to maintain skill and knowledge levels. Ad- vance level training is also avail- able to team members. While normally it would be much darker in the mine "black - black" is how Swick described it - The arena floor was dimly lit to allow spectators to watch the res- cue teams. While not many rescue fans were out in Goderich, Swick said that isn't the case with other min- ing communities. If you were to go to Sudbury, he said, the stands are filled with fans of the competition, but here in Goderich it's a little-known event. That may come as a surprise considering Goderich was the 2008 district champion, allow- ing them to advance to provincial competition. This year, Canadian Gypsum Corporation (CGC) took the top honours. Swick said the southern Ontario division is reduced to just three competition teams, where there were five or six strong. Sifto has 27 inividuals trained in mine rescue, however Swick said the competition group takes extra training to pit their skills against the industry's best. . Once out of the `mine', teams had to complete a written exam as well as a technical one. On Friday, the teams got togeth- er for a final day of fun and fel- lowship. The simulation mine was stripped down in about an hour, where before it took two days to set up, and camaraderie took the place of competition. "At the end of the day," Swick said. "There isn't a guy here who wouldn't scramble to help out someone in trouble." The mine rescue competition helps achieve several goals but is most helpful in providing a prac- tical emergency situation where trained miners can apply their life- saving skills. "They put in 10 to 12 days in preparation and it adds to their skill and training," Taylor said. "The mines work on a mutual aid program, the teams are. available to each mine in an emergency, and they all have to work to the same level of proficiency and standard." The situation used in the mine rescue competition is standardized across the province to provide a means of practical application for the training. While the scenarios developed for the mine rescue teams are ex- treme and test their abilities and knowledge to the limit, Taylor said it important that all miners are in a state of preparedness. "We work very hard at some- thing we hope we never have to do," he said. Windsor was to have hosted this year's mine rescue competition but Godtrich stepped in to pro- vide a venue since Windsor will be hosting the provincial competition early in June. The simulated mining emer- gency was developed by two mine rescue officials. A total of 33 min- ers, supervisors and representa- tive, from the Ministry of Labour judged the two-day competition.