Last night I had to check all of the Rescue Shelters (Coffin Boxes) for their Water supply, Food, and Reading as well as Blankets and Air Supplies. I thought it great that they all had the Bible for the reading. Hope I never have to use them. You can get in but they better find you because you cannot get out. That is why they call them Coffin Boxes. It does make them easier to find the bodies.

At lest they will have the word of God.

Going into one of them and you better be right with him.

Can you elaborate on what these are for?

1001 ways to die in a coal mine, these are for putting it off as long as possible.

Shelter boxes for cave ins, fires, explosions, etc that cuts off all routes of escape. The idea being that they are stocked with enough supply to last until rescue arrives.

Having grown up in mine country and seen a few, well let's just say men didn't come home, let's just say that there can be events that just aren't survivable.

The emergency shelters came about after the Sago Mine explosion / fire in 2006. Thirteen guy were trapped, one survived. The shelters were mandated by the passage of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act in 2006.

I’m not aware of any instances were they were ever used, successfully or otherwise.

Figured they were new as they weren't a thing when Jim Walter #5 exploded. But I understood exactly what they were and the futility of them.

Why cant you get out?

How big are the coffin boxes?

Will they hold multiple men?

Keith

Hes not gonna answer our questions I guess.

Doors only open from the outside, That way if multiple Explosions you will be safe..... Until the Food Water and Air run out.

A rescue Chamber is designed to hold a full, crew on that section Plus One. They are not big enough to stand up min. You crawl in and when the door shuts you are locked in until rescued.

In a fire or gas situation I imagine that opening the door from the inside would be like opening an airplane door while in flight but worse, much worse.

What brand of chambers do you have? Ours at the mine I'm at now and the three previous ones, you could get back out.

The idea of being trapped inside, even in a disaster, can't be very appealing to almost anyone.

Keith

I recall reading a Hitchcock short story years ago that has stuck with me. Two guys on a ocean liner, to avoid seasickness they go into a interior cabin smoking room and close the doors. They smoke cigars and play billiards. Before long they notice the engines have fallen silent. Then hear groans and creaks and notice water rising on a porthole.

It goes on to describe the madness that sets in and ends open ended on what happens.

To this day if I'm on a boat I'm going to be found on deck or just one bulkhead away from the deck.

There was a lot of debate about the merit of rescue chambers when they were initially proposed with the MINER Act.

For many years, the number one tenet taught to those who found themselves in a mine emergency situation was to get outside, asap. All miners carry, or have access to, a self rescuer, an emergency breathing apparatus is good for approximately an hour. You use that hour to make your way to fresh air, and then outside.Years ago, miners were taught to construct an airtight barricade if escape was blocked.

It was thought that by introducing rescue chambers underground, miners might opt to take refuge there, instead of getting out. It’s always a better bet trying to get out than it is to stay underground.

In WV they are not accessible. When you open the door it even sets alarms off outside.

You also have to have a Cache of Rescuers every 200 feet. You also have to have enough Rescuers for a full workforce plus 10. That way you should have enough air to get out just make sure you attempt to escape in the intake side if Possible!!

I don’t do well in tight spaces to begin with, if in that situation I might honestly take my chances on the outside, otherwise the anxiety would probably kill me.