A GLOBAL INVENTORY OF MINE RESCUE TRAINING FACILITIES – COMPENDIUM OF IDEAS TO IMPROVE U.S. COAL MINE 

RESCUE TRAINING 

S. B. Bealko, NIOSH, Pittsburgh, PA 

D. W. Alexander, NIOSH, Pittsburgh, PA 

L. L. Chasko, NIOSH, Pittsburgh, PA 

R. L. Grayson, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA 

ABSTRACT 

In response to recent mining disasters and new mine rescue team 

legislation, NIOSH researchers conducted meetings across the United 

States with mine emergency response experts to investigate current 

needs and issues. Some of the issues include emergency response 

preparedness, mine rescue contests, real-life training capabilities, and 

training facilities. Many new teams are being formed that must be 

trained for mine rescue team competitions as well as be ready to 

respond to a variety of mine emergencies including a fire or explosion, 

a massive roof collapse, mine inundations, or vertical shaft rescue 

situations. Therefore, it is important that these teams are adequately 

prepared and trained. This paper presents a summary of domestic 

and international coal mine rescue training facilities and identifies 

those that provide unique, real-life, and/or state-of-the-art training. 

Research findings from this report will be used in further NIOSH 

investigations to improve coal mine rescue training. 

DISCLAIMER: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of 

the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

INTRODUCTION 

When lives are in danger, mine emergency response systems 

must function rapidly and competently. The hierarchy of response

actions begins with self-escape and then first responders and/or fire 

brigades, and finally mine rescue teams. If there is a breakdown in 

self-escape and first responders are not successful, then the 

deployment of mine rescue teams, under control of incident command 

centers, is necessary for a safe rescue to be accomplished. 

Emergency situations requiring mine rescue teams are highconsequence, low-probability events. Although the mining industry’s 

goal has always been to reduce this probability with advanced 

technology, coal mine legislation, and proactive injury prevention 

techniques, the probability may never be reduced to zero at every coal 

mine in the United States. Mine rescue team members, just like fire 

fighters, accept some personal risk to save the lives of others. “So 

Others May Live” has become a fairly common motto for coal mine 

rescue teams across the United States. Therefore, to minimize risk, it 

is essential that these teams and incident command staff are fully 

equipped with state-of-the-art technology, are professionally trained 

keeping team safety as the number one priority, and receive guidance 

from only the best available mine emergency response experts. 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has 

developed some effective methods of simulated emergency response 

training that have received positive responses from mine rescue and 

fire brigade team members. However, these exercises require minelike environments to be effective (1). 

MINE RESCUE ISSUES AND CONCERNS 

From December 2007 through March 2008, NIOSH conducted 

seven stakeholder meetings across the United States to investigate the 

present issues, concerns, barriers, and suggestions for improved mine 

emergency response. Seventy-one meeting participants, mostly from 

industry, consisted of coal mine emergency response expert 

practitioners and trainers. Numerous issues emerged including current 

training practices, standardization of skills and equipment, incident 

command, mine rescue contests, and coal mine rescue training 

facilities. 

Similar issues were addressed in the December 2006 Mine Safety 

Technology and Training Commission Report, sponsored by the 

National Mining Association (NMA), where the following findings and 

recommendations were made (2): 

• “MSHA should establish criteria for the development and use 

of contest problems to ensure that time to complete a 

problem, which is easy to assess during a competition, 

should not displace other important skill-based performances 

as primary contest objectives. Likewise, contest problems 

should emphasize functions that teams will likely be called to 

perform during an emergency.” 

• MSHA, NIOSH, state agencies, industry, and the mine 

rescue associations should collaborate to conduct a systemwide assessment of teams’ locations, availabilities, and 

capabilities....” 

• “Create a federally-sponsored national mine rescue 

academy for the purpose of building a national community of 

policy and practice.... Its main role would be to offer 

resident and distance learning courses and programs that 

would enhance and standardize the training and capability of 

mine rescue team members. It could also help to identify 

and disseminate lessons learned and best practices, to 

facilitate promulgation of standards for teams, to develop 

standard teaching curricula, and to collaborate with 

universities to conduct advanced or specialized training for 

mine rescue personnel.” 

• “Federal and state government agencies and industry should 

partner to develop more joint training facilities that provide 

realistic environments.... These should be located to be 

accessible to teams nationwide.” 

This paper provides an inventory of coal mine rescue training 

capabilities and facilities across the United States and in several other 

countries. It contains a list of every major facility in the United States 

as well as most of the smaller training facilities where coal mine rescue 

training is being planned or has the potential to be expanded. The 

purpose of this research was to identify practices in the United States 

and around the world that could improve the current underground coal 

mine rescue system. 

U.S. COAL MINE RESCUE TRAINING 

FACILITIES AND PRACTICES 

The mine rescue stations for the 170 underground coal mine 

rescue teams registered in the United States are displayed in Figures 

1a and 1b as red dots (3). Also shown are 12 facilities that focus on 

mine rescue training, offer some real-life training activities, or have a 

unique training feature that could enhance current coal mine rescue 
training. Each of the numbered facilities is discussed in more detail 

below. 

Figure 1a & 1b. Locations of all the underground coal mine rescue

stations and 12 mine rescue training facilities across the United States. 

This list of training facilities does not include museums, fire 

departments, mine rescue stations, or institutions that predominantly 

offer new miner and refresher training, and other specialized coal 

miner training (coal mine rescue training options are either nonexistent or minimal). Some academic and government facilities also 

are not listed, which primarily service metal/nonmetal mine rescue 

teams, including the University of Nevada’s Waldo Mine, New Mexico 

Tech’s San Xavier Mine, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Nevada. 

Finally, besides one particular privately-owned facility with a very 

unique feature, a few coal companies have built their own facilities in 

active or idle mines or buildings. They are not included in this report. 

Ten of these facilities are located in the Midwest and Eastern 

states (figure 1a) and two are located in the West (figure 1b). Seven 

facilities, numbered one through seven, are larger facilities and focus 

heavily on mine rescue training and/or real-life exercises (large-size 

symbols). One of these facilities is privately-owned (orange-square) 

and is not available for public use and two are government research 

facilities (green-circle) that have very limited availability for anything 

beyond training research. The other five facilities (blue-diamond) are 

available, schedule permitting, to all mine rescue teams. 

Figure 1 shows other facilities numbered 8 through 12 (small-size 

symbols) that are smaller facilities. They primarily provide coal miner 

or academic training, but have a commendable training feature or are 

planning to expand their mine rescue training abilities subject to 

funding. One of these facilities is an academic institution (purple 

hexagon) that is rarely available for public use; the four others are 

currently available for use. There are other privately-owned coal 

mining training facilities and state agency rescue stations that offer a 

small variety of classrooms, contests, and real-life training, but unless 

they have expressed an interest to expand or they possess a 

distinctive training feature, they were not included on this list. 

The numbers in Figure 1 correspond to the following list of coal 

mine rescue training facility names and descriptions. 

1. Buchanan Mine Rescue Training Facility, Consol Energy Inc.; 

Grundy, VA. 

http://consolenergy.com

Formerly the central maintenance shop of Island Creek Coal 

Company, the Buchanan mine rescue team began converting this 

building into a one-of-a-kind, all-weather, mine rescue training facility in 

2007. It is privately-owned and not available for public use. 

Figure 2 shows the most unique feature in this facility – the indoor 

mine rescue twin practice fields that are each three entries wide and

five entries deep and the coal blocks, painted on the floor, are 14 x 16 

feet wide. This area is large enough to allow two teams to practice for 

contests simultaneously. Being able to utilize this field all year long 

and during bad weather creates an efficient training schedule. 

Figure 2. The indoor mine rescue contest practice field at Consol 

Energy’s Buchanan Mine training facility. 

This facility also includes a 110 ft-long smoke maze where team 

members explore and navigate around obstacles in a simulated mine 

environment where vision is highly compromised. Other features of

this facility include a mine rescue equipment and benching room, first 

aid station, multiple classrooms (annual 8-hr refresher, electrical, 

smoke, and new miner training as well as other specialized training), 

and creative mine rescue artwork. Specialized fire fighting and foam 

training are not currently conducted at this site. However, plans are 

being discussed to build an outside fire gallery for first responder 

training and advanced fire fighting for mine rescue teams. 

2. NIOSH Lake Lynn Laboratory; Lake Lynn, PA. 

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/

This government research laboratory consists of an underground 

limestone mine, a surface quarry area, fire galleries, offices and 

laboratory buildings. Because it is primarily used for NIOSH research 

projects, it is not publicly available for mine rescue training exercises 

except for projects where mine rescue teams are used to test new 

technologies and procedures. The simulated coal mine portion is 

designed to match the shape of a 3-entry, 1,400 foot-long production 

section, with entries 6.5-feet high by 18-feet wide. The outdoor fire 

gallery (figure 3) and fire suppression gallery simulates an 

underground belt entry and is used to teach basic and advanced fire 

fighting skills in confined spaces. There is also a mine fire 

preparedness facility in the upper quarry consisting of concrete burn 

pads where mine rescue team and fire brigade members can learn 

how to extinguish gaseous, liquid, and solid fuel fires, evaluate 

firefighting tactics, and handle fire extinguishers and high expansion 

foam while researchers study ways to optimize the training methods. 
Figure 3. NIOSH LLL outdoor fire gallery simulated belt entry) 

showing two teams extinguishing a fire.

3. NIOSH Bruceton Coal Mine, Pittsburgh Research Lab; Bruceton, 

PA. 

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/

There are actually two adjacent mines at this location, the Safety 

Research Coal Mine (SRCM) and Experimental Mine, which are used 

to support health and safety research for mine workers. The 

Experimental Coal Mine, currently not available to the public, consists 

of two drift entries and multiple rooms with concrete floors driven into 

the Pittsburgh coal seam. It was created to support full-scale mine 

ventilation, fire, and explosion tests. There are two areas specially 

designed to handle large fires without risk of the coal seam catching on 

fire. 

The SRCM is a conventional room-and-pillar operation 

approximately the size of a large working section of a coal mine and is 

utilized for mine health and safety research in areas such as ground 

control, ventilation, fires, emergency response, materials handling, 

communications, remote sensing and drilling, and environmental 

monitoring. This research mine also has a reversible fan, water 

hydrants, electric power, and compressed air. Although it is not 

publicly available for regular use, the real-life environment makes it an 

attractive place to conduct mine rescue and fire brigade training 

research including a variety of smoke-training exercises and mine 

emergency response development (MERD) drills. The MERD incident 

command center, shown in figure 4, is located next to the mine and 

includes communications and mine rescue team staging areas. 

Figure 4. MERD incident command center exercise at the NIOSH 

Bruceton Coal Mine. 

4. The Mine Simulation Laboratory (MSL), National Mine Health and 

Safety Academy; Beaver, WV. 

www.msha.gov

The MSL is one of seven complexes at the MSHA Academy 

which are available for public use. It contains a 48,000-square foot 

building designed to simulate coal and metal/nonmetal mines and has 

an outside burn area. It is available for public use, and in 2008, it 

began operating on the weekends in order to keep up with the 

increasing demand for mine rescue training. 

The lower floor, shown in figure 5, simulates a typical room-andpillar coal mine with four entries and nine crosscuts (4). The burn area 

includes an incombustible burn tunnel and concrete pads. Mine 

rescue training includes problem solving and first aid classroom 

courses, numerous outdoor fire-fighting drills, exploration and 

navigation in poor visibility, and other exercises where team members 

conduct hands-on mine rescue tasks including the construction of 

temporary and permanent ventilation controls while under apparatus. 

Other noteworthy features of this complex are dormitory space for 320 

people, classrooms and laboratories that can accommodate 600 

students, a cafeteria, library, auditorium, and wellness facilities. 

Figure 5. MSHA Mine Simulation Laboratory building cutaway. 

The Mine Emergency Operations (MEO) Building and Mine 

Rescue Station is located next to the Mine Simulation Laboratory. The 

mine emergency command vehicles, office trailer, rescue capsule, 

ATV, emergency generators, and water pumps are housed in this 

building. Also, the mine rescue station for MSHA's Mine Emergency 

Unit (MEU) is located inside and contains a full complement of 

equipment for mine rescue/recovery. The MSHA’s MEU has mutual 

aid agreements with the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA), Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), and the 

U.S. military. They also utilize a neighboring facility where they partner 

with The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) to provide 

HAZMAT and Disaster Site Worker Training. MSHA’s mine rescue 

resources could be used to respond to local and nationwide disasters. 

5. Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies, Southern 

West Virginia Community and Technical College (SWVCTC); 

Logan, WV. 

http://southernwv.edu/mining

The Academy at SWVCTC offers academic and certification 

programs to the public along with specialized coal mine rescue training 

conducted on campus, at a local underground coal mine, at a firefighting area, in a trailer equipped with virtual-reality computer-based 

simulations, and in a simulated coal mine. The downtown facility is 

designed to simulate underground coal mines with low-, mid-, and 

high-seam heights. It provides trainees the opportunity for hands-on 

training in a realistic environment. There is even a hoist elevator that 

is used for transportation and mine shaft evacuation training. 

Mine rescue training exercises include navigation in smoke and

water hazards, confined space rescue, advanced medical training, 

rapid transportation of injured miners, and the use of new mine rescue 

technology including exploration in poor visibility with thermal imaging 

cameras. Outdoor burn pads and a fire gallery are used for 

specialized fire-fighting training. This facility also utilizes state-of-the-
art 3D computer simulations where trainees can get immersed in reallife situations without exposure to hazardous conditions. 

SWVCTC places a heavy emphasis on incident command and 

mobilization of emergency assets and integrates this expertise into 

mine rescue training in the form of MERDs. This facility operates an 

on-call 24/7 fleet of five mine emergency response and support 

vehicles that is partly funded by the state of WV. Given the name Task 

Force 1, they are specially-designed to provide communications, 

rescue, and fire service to mines in very remote locations. Rescue 

equipment includes light towers, rescue jaws and cutters, 900-ton airlift 

bags, technical rope equipment for vertical rescue, self contained 

breathing apparatus (SCBA), portable power systems, and medical 

equipment. The Mobile Communications Unit (Command 1), shown in 

figure 6, is equipped with 12 computer workstations with 

fax/copy/scanner capabilities, a GPS and three satellite communication 

systems, MSHA-approved radio systems, a portable weather station, 

and helicopter landing-zone equipment. It can be used as an incident 

command center at any location that is accessible by a bus. 

Figure 6. SWVCTC Mobile Communications Unit (Command 1) 

equipped with a multiple-satellite communication system.

6. Mining Technology and Training Center (MTTC), UMWA Career 

Centers, Inc.; Ruff Creak, PA. 

http://www.umwacc.com

The MTTC facility is located north of Waynesburg, PA, in a large 

building (formerly a mine portal) with classrooms and a temporary 

outdoor simulated mine maze built out of brattice curtain walls and tin 

roof materials. This facility provides opportunities for hands-on and 

smoke training and room for expansion on the 63-acre property. The 

majority of training today is designed to meet the needs of 

inexperienced coal miners and mechanics, and to provide mine 

examiner/foreman training. Construction of a simulated mine, funded 

by a Commonwealth of PA grant, with similar capabilities as the Mine 

Simulation Laboratory at the MSHA Academy should begin early in 

2009 and will include fire pits and a burn tunnel. The simulated mine 

will have six entries and seven crosscuts making it large enough to 

train multiple teams at once. Some areas in the mine will be hardened 

so that team members can experience building ventilation controls and 

installing roof supports under apparatus; other areas will have flexibility 

to simulate a range of coal seam heights and will be equipped with 

hidden overcasts that can be pulled down from the roof when needed. 

The current and future facilities are available for public use. 

MTTC plans to conduct the following mine rescue training 

exercises: MERD contests, exploration and navigation techniques in 

smoke, and various classroom courses including first aid, mine 

systems and ventilation, and basic mine rescue skills. High-expansion 

fire-fighting foam, confined space, heavy object removal, and incident 

command center training will also be offered. Future plans may 

include an indoor mine rescue contest field and a virtual-reality training 

theatre. 

7. Edgar Mine Rescue Training Center, Colorado School of Mines 

(SCM); Idaho Springs, CO. 

http://mining.mines.edu/edgar_mine.htm

The Edgar Mine is one level of an old hard-rock vein gold mine 

with multiple, small-cross section entries and large rooms that the 

Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety leases from 

CSM to train mine rescue teams. It is available for public use, student 

training, faculty research projects and U.S. Army exercises. Because it 

is an authentic mine, very little simulation is needed to create realistic 

mine emergency training conditions. Instructors strive to prepare 

teams for a wide range of mine emergency events. Training exercises 

can be developed and tailored to the specific needs of any mine 

rescue team. 

Facilities and equipment available at the mine include an 

underground 30-person classroom with audio/visual equipment, 

vertical-rope rescue equipment, a confined-space training maze, 

artificial smoke (non-toxic) generating equipment, live fires, gas-testing 

equipment, breathing apparatus bench facilities, and other specialized 

mine rescue equipment. Onsite fire-fighting training is limited to fireextinguisher instruction. However, the Colorado Division of Mine 

Safety and Training has a partnership with several local fire 

departments to conduct specialized fire-fighting training at their 

facilities. 

MERD exercises, using modified MSHA-approved rules, are 

offered that engage team members in realistic and hands-on training. 

In one example, participating teams rotate through three different 

situations: incident command center, underground mine rescue team, 

and back-up mine rescue team. Mine rescue teams work a realistic 

problem using both contest rules and procedures for a real-life 

emergency by navigating in smoke, building ventilation controls (figure 

7), simulating fire fighting and hose management, performing first-aid 

procedures on real persons, solving problems and making decisions, 

utilizing back-up teams, and performing command-center duties. 

Incident command training gives team members a better 

understanding of the skills and knowledge needed for decision-making, 

the use of mine rescue team information, ventilation issues, and delays 

that take place during an underground mine rescue. Teams are also 

given a written test (one per team) to assess their skills and knowledge 

and then participate in a debriefing discussion at the end of the 

exercise. 

Figure 7. Edgar Mine MERD exercise showing teams building a 

ventilation control. 

7. West Virginia University (WVU) Mining Extension and Outreach, 

College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; Morgantown, WV. 

http://www.cemr.wvu.edu/eando/mining 

WVU maintains two training centers; classrooms and 

administrative offices are located on the WVU Evansdale campus and

hands-on, new-miner and mechanic training facilities located at the 

Emergency Preparedness Center Doll’s Run portal facility located 

about 10 miles away. Training is also conducted at the MSHA 

Academy in Beaver, WV. A notable portion of the training is geared 
towards preparing individual coal miners to handle mine-emergency 

conditions, to protect themselves and to take action. They believe that 

every miner, fire brigadesman, and mine rescue team member should 

have, at a minimum, first-responder training. 

Most of the first-responder training is conducted at mine sites for 

convenience to the mine operator. Two unique mobile training units 

are deployed to mines or remote locations. One specially-designed 

vehicle, named “The Truck” (figure 8), is equipped with a changeable 

3-tiered smoke maze that is used to build confidence among miners 

while wearing SCSRs or SCBAs in confined-space drills. It consists of 

a series of movable partitions and swinging doors. The temperature 

and visibility can be adjusted to simulate the heat and smoke from a 

fire. Practical hands-on extinguisher and hose experience can be 

provided by the use of remotely-controlled fire pans in the mine yard. 

Figure 8. WVU Mining E&O’s mobile unit (The Truck) for first 

responder training in a smoke maze. 

First-responder and fire-fighting training are offered at the MSHA 

Academy. Currently, limited specialized training is offered at the 

facilities in the Morgantown area. However, there have been 

discussions to renovate the Doll’s Run facility to better serve the needs 

of local coal mine rescue teams. 

9. RLC Coal Mining Training Center, Rend Lake Community 

College; Ina, IL. 

http://www.rlc.edu/

Rend Lake Community College, in partnership with the state of 

Illinois and federal government, has been awarded funding to design, 

engineer, equip and construct a coal-mining training facility to revitalize 

its mining technology program. This program will be able to offer a 

wide range of coal-mining technology and training opportunities, 

including some specialized training for mine rescue teams. The facility 

is expected to be available for public use in mid-2009. 

The Rend Lake College (RLC) Coal Mining Training Center will be 

a 100- by 200-foot steel building and will include classroom and office 

space, coal mining equipment, and a small simulated mine. The north 

half of this facility is designed to resemble an underground coal mine 

for a variety of training purposes. It will have removable walls, a black 

colored interior, and a smoke machine to simulate limited visibility. 

The Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals has expressed interest 

in using this facility to train mine rescue teams. There will also be an 

outside area where fire-safety training will be performed. 

10. Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T) Research

Mine; Rolla, MO.

http://mining.mst.edu

Under the direction of the mining engineering department, this 

underground limestone mine has the unique feature of being utilized to 

train college students in mine rescue. The MS&T student mine rescue 

teams compete against professional teams and host a metal/nonmetal 

mine rescue contest every year. Another unique feature is that this 

contest (using MSHA-modified rules) is held in an underground mine 

and not on an indoor floor or outdoor open field. 

The main function of the Research Mine is for academic purposes 

and to train the mine rescue students in a real-life environment.

Hence, it is not available to mine rescue teams for training. The facility 

includes a classroom area, an outdoor contest field, and a benching 

room containing both Dräger and Biomarine breathing apparatus. Firefighting training is limited to use of hand-held extinguishers. 

Navigation training in limited visibility using artificial smoke is being 

considered. 

11. Alabama Mine Training Consortium (AMTC), Bevill State 

Community College; Sumiton, AL. 

http://www.bscc.edu/mining/

The AMTC, located on the Bevill State’s Sumiton Campus, was 

established to meet the immediate needs of Alabama coal companies 

for mine workers and to create a pipeline of future skilled workers. It 

offers short-term academic certificate programs and other training 

including new underground miner, refresher, mine electrician, first 

aid/CPR, and mine rescue. This facility is available for public use. 

A simulated mine consisting of four entries, four crosscuts, an 

overcast, beltline, power center, and fan is used to conduct smoke 

training and foam training for mine rescue teams. Burn galleries and 

outdoor fire pads are not available, but first-responder training using 

hand-held fire extinguishers is offered. AMTC recently received 

funding to build a command center and control room that will include 

computers, communication systems, and the latest technology in fan 

and CO sensor alarms. Construction has already begun and 

command-center training should be offered during the first half of 2009. 

12. Western Energy Training Center (WETC), College of Eastern 

Utah; Helper, UT. 

http://www.westernenergytraining.org/

The WETC training center is located in the former surface portal 

facilities of the Willow Creek Mine and has been converted into a 

training facility for all energy industries in the western United States, 

including underground coal. Training instructors strive to offer practical 

and hands-on training for new miners, annual retraining, virtual-reality 

simulation, first aid, electrical safety, etc. and prepare coal miners for 

emergency response. The outside grounds offer only limited firefighting capabilities. This facility is available for public use and 

provides training across a variety of energy industries for maintenance, 

power-plant operations, oil and gas production and construction. 

Limited mine rescue training is currently being conducted; 

however, several new additions to enhance training capabilities are 

being proposed as funding becomes available. A simulated 

underground mine is planned along with re-opening an underground 

tunnel (formerly a concrete-lined belt entry) to provide more realistic 

and confined-space fire-fighting exercises. Dormitory space is currently 

being proposed for long-term training needs. 

SUMMARY OF U.S. COAL MINE RESCUE TRAINING FACILITIES 

A visual inspection of Figure 1 suggests a deficiency in the 

number and capacity of coal mine rescue training facilities. Only eight 

out of twelve training facilities discussed above (67%) are readilyavailable public facilities; the others are either government research, 

academic, or privately-owned resources. This shortage of local 

facilities causes many teams to travel long distances which consumes 

valuable training time and resources. Furthermore, teams might not 

even be able to receive training at the closer facilities because of 

limited availably in the facility schedule. 

Table 1 (see Appendix) shows whether or not eleven basic 

features and training capabilities are provided at each investigated 

facility. For training centers that are in a planning or construction 

phase, expected start dates are given. 

• Available to Public (no, yes, or limited) 

• Underground Coal Mine (real or simulated) 

• Classroom Exercises (mine rescue rules, first aid, mine gases, 

ventilation, etc.) 

• Specialized Fire Fighting (burn galleries, fire pads, and foam 

training) 

• Navigation in Smoke 

• Incident Command or MERD exercise 

• Heavy Object Lifting 

• Vertical or Shaft Rescue 

• Water Rescue 

• Indoor Contest Rescue Practice Field 

• On-site Lodging 
Table 1 shows that out of the eight public facilities, four of them 

are currently under construction and should be in full operation by late 

2009 or 2010. MSHA’s Mine Simulation Lab is the oldest and most 

heavily utilized facility. A new facility that provides real-life and widerranging training opportunities is the SWVCTC Academy for Mine 

Training and Energy Technologies in Logan, WV. All of the available 

centers provide training in a real or simulated underground mine and 

offer a range of classroom and first-aid teaching exercises. Most of 

them offer specialized fire-fighting and smoke-training exercises, but 

some must go off-site or utilize a mobile unit. Incident command or 

MERD training is provided by most facilities, except for the ones 

located in the Midwest United States (MS&T and RLC). Heavy-object 

removal and vertical-rope rescue is offered at two training centers and 

water rescue is only offered at one. Teams at only two facilities can 

practice on indoor mine rescue contest fields, but two more are being 

proposed at two different facility locations. Finally, one facility can 

provide lodging, the MSHA Academy. A review of Table 1 and Figure 

1 suggests that training capabilities and facilities are not universally 

available to all teams. Some regions would require teams to travel 

long distances, especially in western Colorado/New Mexico, Ohio, 

Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Oklahoma/Arkansas. However, 

NIOSH is currently investigating this issue further and will provide more 

detailed information in future reports. 

No attempt to understand the adequacy of the coal mine rescue 

training offered or of curricula was attempted in this research. 

Methods for assessing competencies of individuals, teams and 

incident-command structures are beyond the scope of this 

investigation. 

INTERNATIONAL MINE RESCUE TRAINING FACILITIES 

Although funded, staffed, and legislated in diverse ways, it is 

typical for international coal-producing countries to operate regional 

mine rescue training facilities. They are centrally located in the middle 

of coal fields or between groups of mines to keep travel time from each 

mine to a minimum. These facilities also have the capacity to train all 

of the local mine rescue teams. 

Highly specialized and all-inclusive training centers exist in South 

Africa, Australia, China, India, United Kingdom, Germany and Eastern 

Europe (Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine). They provide physical, and 

sometimes rigorous, hands-on training in mines or simulated real-life 

environments. The full-time staff at these facilities are highly 

experienced mine emergency response specialists and provide 

expertise and leadership during mine emergencies. It is common in 

some countries to utilize specialized medical personnel as full-time 

staff and trained members of the mine rescue teams. 

These centers offer the basic mine rescue training similar to those

listed in Table 1. Some facilities offer other specialized training 

including multiple-casualty extrication, life-support mine medics, rescue 

through boreholes, location of trapped miners, and control-room and 

incident-command-center procedures. Australian training facilities 

utilize state-of-the-art virtual-reality theaters to simulate a wide range of 

mine hazards and mine rescue training exercises. Medical testing 

(heat tolerance and fitness for duty), first-responder training, standards 

evaluation and auditing, coordination of mine rescue teams, the 

housing of specialized mine-emergency equipment, and technical 

expertise training are other uses of these facilities. Finally, these 

centers are utilized for mine rescue contests. The contests are 

designed to have multiple real-life or simulated exercises that assess 

individual team member competencies. 

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Training in a real-life environment with opportunities for hands-on 

experience has been established as beneficial to coal mine rescue 

teams. Preliminary findings suggest that increasing the current 

amount of training facilities and/or capacities may help coal mine 

rescue teams be better prepared for mine emergencies. 

Most international mine rescue teams receive standardized skills 

training for a wide range of mine emergency responses. Although 

some skill sets may vary in importance among U.S. coal mine rescue 

teams, the following basic competencies are suggested for U.S. mine 

rescue team members. 

Primary Skills: 

• basic mine rescue skills and practices (contest and real-life 

rules, first aid, map reading, mine gases, dust and

ventilation, communications, breathing apparatus, rescue 

and fire-fighting equipment, gas sampling, ventilation control 

construction, etc.) 

• basic mining skills and knowledge (roof and rib control, 

shoring and cribbing standing support, sources of ignition, 

the importance of adequate rock dusting, equipment safety, 

electrical do’s and don’ts, etc.) 

• advanced first aid and life support systems (e.g., a 

paramedic on each team). 

• specialized fire fighting, ventilation effects of fires. 

• gas analysis, sampling, and trend analysis. 

• navigation and working under apparatus and in reduced

visibility (smoke or dust). 

• multiple team rotation procedures. 

• incident-command training. 

• problem-solving and decision-making. 

Non-typical skills: 

• heavy-object lifting or removal. 

• vertical-rope rescue or repelling from structures or shafts 

and raises. 

• still and swift water rescue. 

Numerous countries utilize regional or centralized mine rescue 

training facilities to provide the above skills training. These facilities 

are structured to be systematic, efficient, self-contained, and designed 

to provide realistic training. This report shows that comprehensive 

regional facilities do not exist in the United States. However, there are 

existing facilities that provide varying amounts and kinds of realistic 

and hands-on coal mine rescue training. 

The research findings in this report will be used in further NIOSH 

investigations to improve coal mine rescue training and evaluate the 

applicability of international practices. Further studies are needed to 

more clearly define coal mine rescue training needs and develop 

recommendations for improvement. The ultimate goal is to ensure that 

the coaching, mentoring, and training of mine rescue personnel is 

adequate to be fully prepared for a safe mine emergency response. 

REFERENCES 

1. Conti RS, Chasko LL, and Stowinsky LD, Mine Rescue Training 

Simulations and Technology, Proceedings of the Fifth Annual 

Conference of the International Emergency Management Society, 

pp. 453-464, 1998. 

2. Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission, Improving 

Mine Safety Technology and Training: Establishing U.S. Global

Leadership, Pages 55-77, December 2006. 

3. 2008 Mine Rescue Teams - Nationwide Listing, accessed May 

2008, 

http://www.msha.gov/MineRescue/MAP/ASP/mnerescteams2008.

xls

4. MSHA, Mine Simulation Laboratory, assessed October 2008, 

www.msha.gov/programs/epdmsl.htm
APPENDIX

Table 1. List of the 12 Mine Rescue Training Facility Capabilities and Features

Facility Name Available 

to Public 

UG Mine 

(Real or 

Simulated) 

Classroom 

Exercises 

Specialized 

Fire Fighting

Navigation in 

Smoke 

Incident 

Command or 

MERD 

Exercises 

Heavy 

Object 

Lifting 

Vertical 

or Shaft 

Rescue 

Water 

Rescue 

Indoor 

Contest 

Practice 

Fields 

On-site 

Lodging 

1. Buchanan no no yes proposed yes no no no no yes no 

2. Lake Lynn research 

only real no yes yes yes no no no no no

3. Bruceton research 

only real no no yes yes no no no no no

4. MSHA MSL yes sim. yes yes yes yes no no no no yes 

5. SWVCTC yes sim. yes yes yes yes yes yes yes proposed no

6. MTTC yes 

sim. 

3rd. Qtr 2009 yes yes, 

3rd Qtr 2009 yes yes yes no yes proposed no

7. Edgar Mine yes real yes yes, 

off-site yes yes proposed yes no no no

8. WVU E&O yes 

sim. 

off-site MSL yes yes, off-site MSL

yes, 

mobile unit & 

MSL 

yes no no no no no

9. RLC yes 

sim. 

3rd Qtr 2009 yes yes, 

3rd Qtr 2009

yes 

3rd Qtr 2009 no no no no no no

10. MS&T no real yes no proposed no no no no no no 

11. AMTC yes sim. yes no yes yes, 

2nd Qtr 2009 no no no no no 

12. WETC yes 

sim. 

2nd Qtr 2009 yes yes, 

2010 

yes, 

2nd Qtr 2009 yes no no no yes proposed