The mine rescue team at the Westmoreland Coal Company’s Estevan mines continues to play an important role in the operations of the mines.
And now they’re getting ready to demonstrate their abilities for the rest of the province in a competition setting.
The 50th annual Emergency Response Mine Rescue Skills Competition will happen on June 2 in Moose Jaw. The local mine rescue team will be joined by their counterparts from other mining companies in the province.
Westmoreland Coal’s Estevan team will be among those entered in the surface mining competition. An underground competition will also take place.
Stephen Kitchen, who works as a mine geologist, is in his third year as part of the team and in his second year as the volunteer co-ordinator. He said the practices, which take place mostly at the mining office south of the city, are going well.
“The weather hasn’t been the best for us, but a lot of the stuff is indoors, and we can try to keep out of the wind,” said Kitchen.
Cory Gibson is the team’s captain and has been a part of the team for several years. Other members are Brandon Schopp, Jessica Klarholm, Matt Procyshyn, Dustin Fisher and Derek Choma. Lonnie Rooks is the alternate. He’ll be called upon if anyone is unable to compete.
“I think they look great,” said Kitchen. “They’re bonding as a team. They’re working very hard. There are a lot of experienced members.”
Fisher and Rooks haven’t been to the competition previously, he said, but they’re learning quickly, and their skills are excellent. The other team members bring experience from previous competitions.
“I think this is one of the better teams we’ve put in, and we’ve been given the opportunity to put together three weeks worth of training, and make sure we are fully prepared,” said Kitchen.
The first week was dedicated to high-angle and technical rope rescues, first aid, search and rescue techniques, gas monitoring and self-controlled breathing apparatus.
A new drill for the technical part of the competition this year is called the Denver Drill.
“It’s to help get a downed firefighter out of a burning building through a window,” said Kitchen. “It was created by some firefighters a few years back.”
The goal is to get the unconscious member of a team out a window and down to the ground, and perform CPR to save their life.
The only skill they weren’t able to work on last week was firefighting due to the wind. The team members go to the fire grounds and work on the proper technique for putting out ground fires and small structure fires, and recharging fire extinguishers.
This week will see the team members further their skills in each of the categories.
Mock scenarios combine the different skills they use, and are used in which the team will have to find a way to rescue those who are injured or are panicking.
They have also been working on their proficiency tests by studying manuals and working on their techniques.
The final week will hopefully be spent fine-tuning their skills, he said, and brushing up the areas that need improvement.
“We will definitely be honing in, as we only get a certain amount of time to do certain things,” said Kitchen. “For example, our technical rope rescue portion of the event, we are only given 35 or 40 minutes to complete it, so ultimately your goal is to get the person out safe and properly.”
Kitchen believes being part of the mine rescue team allows members to help others, not just their fellow mine employees, but people in the community as well. The training they receive is excellent, as they are trained to the emergency medical responder level, which he said is a level below paramedic.
Many of the team members are on their local fire departments, including Estevan, Bienfait, Midale and Lampman.
Also, the organizers of events in the community are often looking for people with medical training to volunteer, and help out in case somebody suffers an injury.
There’s also a strong bond that develops among the team members.
“They’re people that you don’t work with on a daily basis, to you get to know them on a bit more of a personal level,” said Kitchen.
The competition is a fun event to attend, but Kitchen said ultimately the rescue team’s focus is on training, so they can help out their fellow mine employees should their skills ever be needed.
