Saving Lives in the Mines

WYMT-TV, Hazard

Rescue teams from the Pikeville, Hazard, and Martin offices of mine safety and licensing trained for disaster response Tuesday at the Big Sandy Community and Technical College's Simulated Mine Facility.

The training was mandated by the 2006 Miner Act, and MSHA inspectors were on hand to watch.

They don't treat it like it's pretend.

They hear the made-up names and locations of miners trapped inside, and know there may not be much time to complete their mission.

Many of the veteran coal miners have responded to mine disasters before. Others hope the day never comes.

"It better prepares us in case the call does come in at midnight or 3 a.m., that we can pick up and go to a mine where there may be a disaster and we are prepared and ready to go in and accomplish our mission safely," Deputy Chief Accident Investigator Greg Goins said.

They're in constant communication with team members outside.

To steer clear of Hazards like roof falls and dangerous gases, all while fighting underground fires, or worse.

Smoke blocks the view just a few feet in front of them. Some have recovered the bodies of fellow miners in these conditions.

"Actually recovering a body is something they can't really prepare you for until you've actually done it. It does bother you, it really does. You think about it quite a bit, you even dream about it," Pikeville OMSL Team Captain James Tackett said.

That's why they take disaster prevention and preparation so seriously.

"The most important thing is that everybody returns home every day from a job," Goins said.

They say every underground Kentucky miner has returned home in the last two years.

In addition to regular training and mine inspections, OMSL officials say their analysts routinely go underground to observe miners' work habits.