Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC twenty four seven. Saving Lives, Protecting People
Search
            ×
                        Mining
                        Mining
                            NIOSH
                            All CDC
                    Submit
                For a full list of topics:A-Z Index
                Advanced Search
            Advanced Search


The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)


Section Navigation
			
			CDC Home





Mining Topic: Fire Fighting
Keywords: Fire suppression Firefighters Firefighting Firefighting equipment Mine rescue teams
Fast Find
Related contracts
All fire fighting content
What is the health and safety problem?
Mine fires occur every year due to equipment malfunction, spontaneous combustion, frictional ignition, cutting and welding, lightning, and other causes. Misaligned or damaged conveyor belts are often the source of frictional heating that leads to fires. Further, fire suppression systems do not always function as intended. Many mines conduct regular firefighting training for their workforce and some mines support specially equipped fire brigades. When a fire occurs, mine workers not engaged in extinguishing it must evacuate the area inby the fire, sometimes under significantly impaired visibility from smoke or difficult environmental conditions.
The spontaneous heating of coal in mines often occurs in gob areas and may not be easily detected. The risk of an explosion ignited by a spontaneous combustion fire is also present in mines with appreciable levels of accumulated methane. A project was conducted to develop new methods to prevent, detect, control, and suppress spontaneous heating in western coal mines.
What is the extent of the problem?
Since 2000, more than 150 underground mine fires have occurred in the United States. In fact, three of the mine fires since 2000 resulted in subsequent methane explosions. Two mine workers were fatally injured as a result of an underground mine conveyor belt fire in 2006 in West Virginia. During the same time period, 25 spontaneous combustion fires have been reported in underground coal mines. Generally there are over 50 face ignitions reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) every year.
How is the NIOSH Mining program addressing this problem?
Fire FightingFire fighters in training to fight a mine belt fire.
Section 11 of the MINER Act of 2006 required that a Technical Study Panel be formed to provide recommendations on the use of belt air and new technology that may be available for increasing the fire resistance properties of conveyor belts used in underground coal mines. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) has been working on research to reduce the hazards of underground coal mine fires. A project focusing on applying recent technological advances in the areas of fire-resistant and fireproof belt materials, and belt fire suppression systems was completed. A current project is working on atmospheric monitoring systems, and computer codes for predicting and assessing, in real time, the impact of fire on the mine ventilation system and the spread of fire contaminants throughout the mine.
OMSHR completed a long-running emergency response research program that included interacting with 440 fire fighters and 3,200 mine rescuers, identifying methods to improve skills that are now incorporated in expanded mine rescue training events. The Mine Rescue and Escape Training Laboratory was used to determine optimal use of virtual reality (VR) technologies for training and assessing mine emergency responders. Responders include specially trained individuals, such as mine rescue or fire brigade team members, and also managers and mine workers who may be called upon to respond to an emergency situation.
Computational fluid dynamics modeling techniques were used to simulate the spontaneous heating of coal in longwall gob areas. These simulation results were used to evaluate spontaneous combustion control methods and to determine nitrogen injection strategies to prevent/suppress the spontaneous heating in longwall gob areas.
What are the significant findings?
The number of conveyor belt fires and injuries/fatalities due to fire can be significantly reduced by fire-resistant and fireproof belt materials, well-designed belt fire suppression systems, and atmospheric monitoring systems to detect incipient heating. Real-time prediction of the impact of fire on the mine ventilation system and the spread of fire contaminants throughout the mine is possible with new software.
What are the next steps?
OMSHR will continue both laboratory and field evaluations of novel and emerging technologies to keep mine fires from starting, control fires after they become large enough to detect and suppress, and train and equip human fire fighting efforts. Plans are also in the works to incorporate atmospheric monitoring system sensor data into the mine fire simulation program, MFIRE, to develop innovative firefighting strategies.
See Also
Application of Gas-Enhanced Foam at the Excel No. 3 Mine Fire
Development of a Gas Monitor Simulator and Mine Rescue Contest Field Trials
Effect of Air Velocity on Conveyor Belt Fire Suppression Systems
Effect of Longwall Face Advance on Spontaneous Heating in Longwall Gob Areas
Effects of Ventilation and Gob Characteristics on Spontaneous Heating in Longwall Gob Areas
The Effects of Ventilation and Preburn Time on Water Mist Extinguishing of Diesel Fuel Pool Fires
Evaluation of a Novel Fire Blocking Gel to Prevent and Suppress Mine Fires
Evaluation of Smoke Detectors for Use in Underground Mines
Evaluation of the Bagged Stone Dust Barrier Effectiveness in a Bord and Pillar Mine
Final Report of the Technical Study Panel on the Utilization of Belt Air and the Composition and Fire Retardant Properties of Belt Materials in Underground Coal Mining
Fire Response Preparedness for Underground Mines
A Global Inventory of Mine Rescue Training Facilities: Compendium of Ideas to Improve U.S. Coal Mine Rescue Training
Inflatable Partitions for High-Expansion Foam Generators
In-Mine Study of High-Expansion Firefighting Foam
Mine Fires - Measuring the Efficacy of Gas-Enhanced Foam
Mine Rescue Training Facility Inventory - Compendium of Ideas to Improve US Coal Mine Rescue Training
Performance-Based Fire Safety Designs for Self-Escape in Underground Mines
Reducing the Fire and Explosion Hazards of Flame-Cutting and Welding in Underground Coal Mines
Technical Solutions for Enhancements to Mine Safety Using Barricade II Fire Blocking Gel
Testing and Evaluation of an Inflatable Temporary Ventilation Control Device
Page last reviewed: August 17, 2021
Page last updated: March 20, 2017
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
Facebook
        Twitter
        LinkedIn
        Syndicate Mining
        Site BrowserSafety and Health TopicsData & StatisticsMethodologyMine DisastersMSHA Data FilesMine & Mineworker ChartsTools & PublicationsTools You Can UsePublicationsNews & ArticlesResearch ProgramNORA Mining CouncilStrategic PlanMining Program, 2019-2023Miner Health Program, 2020-2030ProjectsContractsFunding OpportunitiesMining LinksAbout UsContact NIOSH MiningEmploymentFacilitiesHistoryVisitor Information Emergency Management
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
Rescue Technologies and Training
 NIOSH Homepage
 NIOSH A-Z
Workplace Safety & Health Topics
Publications and Products
Programs


About CDC
					Contact Us
					800-232-4636
 Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Youtube Pinterest Snapchat
 CONTACT CDC
				Contact Us
							Call 800-232-4636
							Email Us
			ABOUT CDC
				About CDC
							Jobs
							Funding
			POLICIES
				Accessibility
							External Links
							Privacy
							Policies
							No Fear Act
							FOIA
							OIG
							Nondiscrimination
							Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			CONNECT WITH US
				Facebook
								Twitter
								Instagram
								LinkedIn
							Youtube
								Pinterest
								Snapchat
								Email
			LANGUAGES
				Español
							繁體中文
							Tiếng Việt
							한국어
							Tagalog
							Русский
							العربية
							Kreyòl Ayisyen
							Français
							Polski
							Português
							Italiano
							Deutsch
							日本語
							فارسی
							English


U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
			Accessibility
			External Links
			Privacy
			Policies
			No Fear Act
			FOIA
			Nondiscrimination
			OIG
			Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			USA.gov


Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy Close
 Links with this icon  indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
				Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
				You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
				CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Website Disclaimers
 Cancel Continue