On a Wednesday morning in Kentucky, before the sun had even crested the horizon, dozens of miners were already hard at work. They quickly donned specialized oxygen masks and began to search for survivors in a mine accident.
“Let’s go!” one team leader yelled through the mask, running a pre-search safety check. “Check your bypass! Check your hoses for leaks! Inhale! Exhale!”
Only these miners aren’t underground – they are in a downtown convention center in Lexington, Kentucky. This is the National Mine Rescue Contest, held every two years.
Mines are often in remote areas, far from the closest fire or police station, and they require specialized knowledge to navigate. Unlike many other workplaces, miners find themselves on the frontlines when emergencies happen.
Brian Goepfert with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) watches off to the side. He says event organizers can throw all sorts of scenarios at these miners to prepare them for the real deal. Teams of miners get scored by judges on how well they address challenges.