East Kootenay mine rescue and first aid teams show they’re well prepared

1 of 6Line Creek Mine Rescue team stands in wait for the high angle rope task at the Elkford Fire Department. — Brielle Will photo

2 of 6Greenhills Mine Rescue team members move in on the fire set up beneath a vehicle on a controlled gas line during the annual mine rescue and first aid competition. — Brielle Will photo

3 of 6A Greenhills Mine Rescue team member aids a volunteer injured person during the bench task at the annual mine rescue and first aid competition. — Brielle Will photo

4 of 691st annual EKMISA on May 12 at the Elkford Fire Department. — Brielle Will photo

5 of 6A Greenhills Mine Rescue team member ensures the volunteer victim of a fallen power line is held steady and kept safe during the fire task at the annual competition. — Brielle Will photo

6 of 6Greenhills Mine Rescue team members prepare for the challenging fire task during the annual competition, with fire hoses set up on the dry, dusty ground and a crowd of spectators behind. — Brielle Will photo

The 91st annual East Kootenay Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition was hosted at Elkford fire hall May 12, 2012. The competition kicked off at 8 a.m. and wrapped up with an awards banquet at the Fernie Community Centre that evening.

Teck’s local miners showcased high levels of skills throughout the day-long event. Each mine was represented by a three-person first aid team and a six-person mine rescue team. The Greenhills mine rescue team placed highest in the overall task score, followed in second place by Coal Mountain. Those teams thereby qualified for the provincial championships, to be held in Revelstoke on June 9.

Coal Mountain and Fording River mine teams will also be competing in the provincial first aid competition.

The morning was a success, according to event coordinator Kevin Rookes, and an overwhelming buzz filled the banquet hall later, as teams and individuals were presented with awards and congratulated by a number of key speakers and dignitaries throughout the evening.

“We could not have asked for a better overall day,” said Rookes, supervisor of safety and loss prevention at Coal Mountain. He has trained workers in mine rescue for the past 15 years at three of the local mine operations.

Each team participated in five tasks, including first aid, an outdoor fire and smoke simulation, a rope task and an environmental hazard, as well as a written test. Scores are awarded based on the safety of the team and victims in each mock rescue task. Members also had to focus on teamwork, displaying their practiced skills to the best of their ability for the judges and spectators of the community.

“A lot of the public do not know what mine rescue is, which is interesting when it has such a large impact in the community," said Rookes. "Often the mine rescue team members are first responders who stop at an incident in town. Whether it is a motor vehicle incident on the highway or a kids' soccer practice, a trained mine rescue member is in the crowd and has stopped to respond. It is a public service.”

He noted the majority of fire department members in the Elk Valley were once on a mine rescue team and many emergency services have received a tremendous amount of training through the program.

“The personalities of individuals who come out and join mine rescue and become passionate about it are leaders,” Rookes said. “It is a huge portion of what we do within the mining environment and there is a lot of pride.”

MP David Wilks, MLA Bill Bennett, and mayors Dean McKerracher, Mary Giuliano and Lois Halko all spoke during the awards ceremony.

“The biggest buzz was the flowers presented to spouses of competitors,” said Rookes. “Prior to going into competition our mine rescue teams train for over 80 hours.”

Support from family members during the intense training and throughout the year is one of the most important factors to each competitor’s success, he noted.

“Support is bottom-line to get an individual through this and the flowers and cards expressed this as a token of appreciation for all of the support they did provide,” Rookes said.

“It may be a challenge, but one of the perks is how much they will cherish these memories and pass it on to their children so we can keep the legacy of mine rescue going.”