TIMMINS – It is possible that a mine rescue team from Timmins could this year be named as the best rescue team in the world.
That’s because the winner of the Timmins District mine rescue competition which is being held May 11 to 13, will advance to the provincial competition, which is being held in Sudbury in June. Normally that’s where things end — at the provincial level — with the best team enjoying bragging rights. It has happened to many Timmins teams in the past.
This year is different. In August, the International Mines Rescue Competition (IMRC2016 – Canada) is being held in Sudbury at the NORCAT underground centre in Onaping. It means whatever Ontario team wins the provincial event has the right to compete at the world event. Thus, the door is open for a Timmins team to win the world title.
Timmins District Mine Rescue officer Danny Taillefer said this is a regular topic of discussion for the teams currently in training.
“Absolutely. I guarantee you that’s what’s on the minds of everyone on the three Timmins teams right now. It’s not just the district. They want to be able to bring their team right to the international. I’m sure that every team throughout the province is gunning for that,” said Taillefer.
The three teams competing in the Timmins District this year are Glencore Kidd Operations, Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines, and Lake Shore Gold, a division of Tahoe Resources Inc.
The team that is missing, Dumas Mining, is the defending champion, having won the 2015 Timmins competition. “Unfortunately they just weren’t able to compete this year,” said Taillefer.
He said as a mining contracting company, Dumas employees are deployed across Ontario, indeed across the country, and they were not able to field a team this year that could meet the stringent training schedule.
Taillefer said the competition teams are to be tested on their knowledge of standard rescue equipment regardless of whether that equipment is actually used in a rescue scenario or a mock exercise.
By example, he mentioned that in 2008 Ontario Mine Rescue teams began training on a new high-expansion foam-generating machine that runs on a portable independent source of water and compressed air. He said the machine can be used to smother a large fire in areas where compressed air and water might not be accessible.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.timminspress.com/2016/04/26/mine-rescue-teams-gearing-up-for-district-competition