Thank you, Randall, for sharing such knowledge.

I know next to nothing about mining, but respect the jobs and importance of the men who dig the world's riches out of the ground to benefit us.

I cannot imagine the feeling of those men in trouble. I know they, and us all, appreciate the guys who make sure they have every chance of surviving horrible accidents.

You are very welcome young Lady. I love this Job and when I retire next year I am really going to miss it. It seems to get in your blood.

If I have the choice I am going to grab an extra rescuer and head to the intake and head for the mouth. I will for sure be caring extra Rescuers at every Cache. That is why every Quarter we have to do a walk out in case of an emergency. We never know where they are going to stage the emergency but we have to be able to walk out. My section is almost 26 miles in. It is a long walk out.

The reason the WV rescue Chambers are sealed and can only be opened from the outside is because of UBB (Upper Big Branch) Mine explosion. You people will never be able to imagine the Total and Massive explosion that killed those 29 men. It tore up the Rail Road Tracks and turned the steel rails into Corkscrews and then embedded them into solid Rock tops and Ribs (walls). The roof Bolter I used was completely tore in half and embedded into the rib. Those 29 poor men never made it to a rescue Chamber and died where they stood. When we went to retrieve their Bodies they were totally destroyed. They were like Jelly and we had to use sleds to try to roll them into to get them out. Every Bone was totally shattered. The Concussion was that great. I honestly do not believe that the rescue Chambers that instigated after that would have survives a blast like that. I am lucky that I had to go to Kentucky with my right hand man to a sister mine that day. I lost Relatives and friends and ever since then people wonder why I am so hung up on Safety. The sad thing is that it all could have been prevented but MSHA and the Owners very much sold us out on that one!!!

Thoes shelters not cheap Google 4k!!

You are 1000 percent dead on. UBB had their Rails in the Rail Line ripped up twisted like Corkscrews and embedded into solid Rock tops and Ribs. It also ripped my Roof Bolter completely in half and embedded each half into opposing Ribs. The devastation was unbelievable

The cache distance is never 200 feet. From Part 75.1714

Your section is 26 miles from the mine entrance? And you have to walk out that far every three months?

Yes we do. But we leave our belts at the mouth and just carry a water jug and rescuer.

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.[/quote]
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!![/quo
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Ours are every 200 feet because we are known as a gassy mine. Low Coal and UBB seam. It is all written in our MSHA plan. they have the final say on that.

Sounds like a deep one. To be gassy and 26 miles.

Reminds me of the old song-Timothy by the Buoys.
Lots of hard rock miners in NE Ont.
Tough job.
Working underground was an option for me when younger but never appealed to me to work underground even though the money was better than the Railroad.

I love it and the way everyone works together as a Team. I guess when you crawl around with someone for years you learn to get along.

Every underground Bituminous coal mine in the US is required to have two separate designated escapeways. Primary and secondary. The primary escapeway is usually the fresh air intake, many times it is the main travel way. Secondary escapeways are often times the conveyor belt entry.

Miners must participate in an escapeway drill every 90 days ( same as schedule for fire drills ). They are to alternate between using the primary and secondary escapeway every quarter. There is no requirement that the drill needs to be done on foot. Every mine I operated had travel ways for man trips both the intake travel way and belt entries.

You should hear it when you walk along the Face. Your Sniffer starts belching out the Beeps.

Our Primary escape is the intake which is a separate entrance with stopping built every break and the Man doors every 5 breaks, Our Belts run in its own passage and in low coal you would be hard pressed to use it as an escapeway. The other Secondary Escape is usually the the entrance which is the rails. None of the mines in both Kentucky and WV that I work in have entrances through the intake. Our Intakes have HUGE Fans that stay running 24/7 to keep the air pushed through the mine. It is the only one high enough to walk out in. Up to the entrance where we go through the Man Doors and take the elevators to the top. There is no way to get a Mantrip into the Intake from the outside unless you shut off the fans. In a Gassy mine is a Big No No

I guarantee you that there are not SCSR caches every 200 feet. Anywhere in the US. The criteria for spacing of caches is seem height. The distance that a miner could crawl, duck walk, or walk in 60 minutes.Why on earth would a escaping miner need to swap out a self rescuer every 200 feet? In 2006, I was part of the industry advisory group that had input into writing the MINER ACT that set the new standards.

And under Federal law, all underground mines are deemed gassy, ( whether they ave methane or not ).

The fans, that low constant hum of my childhood.

Somehow years later it made the rounds as the "Hueytown Hum" some mysterious unknown noise after all the new subdivisions were built.

Those of us born and raised there just laughed at all the new folks.