Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1909-12-23
WHAT Saved the
CHERRY 1.'NE:nIlS.
Owe Their Lives to Govern
m3ai's Rescue Corps,
RUSHED T0SCths;: Of DISASTER

AS Soon as Word Was Received Of the
Catastrophe Men Trained at Expert
ment Station In Pittsburg In Use of
Oxygen Helmets Were Sent to St.
Paul Coal Mine.
1t is believed by United States gov
eminent officers in Washington that
the miners who were recently saved
from death in the ST. Paul coal mine
at Cherry. H.. owe their lives to the
work of the governments rescue corps
connected with the geological survey.
These men. who are stationed at Pitts
burg. where the survey has an expert
ment station for investigating the
causes of mine disasters. were rushed
to Cherry as soon as word OF the catas-
trophc WIS received.
Each member of he corps had been
trained IN the use Ct what is known as
the oxygen helmet. an apparatus that
permits artificial breathing in HE pres
ence Of deadly gases. Equipped witt
such helmets the governments life say
ers were able to enter the shaft of the
burning mine and fight the fire ut close
range.
Officials said that had the methods
that have been in use in the past been
employed the mine shaft would have
been sealed until the fire had been
smothered for want of oxygen. This.
of course. would have meant delay
sufficient to have caused the death of
every man under ground.
Much Time Saved In Reaching Miners.
Geological survey officers said that
the ability of the governments rescue
corps to enter the mine. filed as it was
with smoke and gas, saved ut least
several days time in reaching The en-
tombed men. To these officers the res
cue at Cherry is the most practical
demonstration ever given anywhere i'll
the world of the efficiency of the oxy-
gen helmets.
They asserted that this experience
NOulu 20 Il lOlIS way tchtib SiioNi
mine owners and miners the necessity
for having il complete equipment of
oxygen helmets at each mine, together
with II corps of men trained in their
use 1t is their belief that hundreds of
lives can be saved in this manner and
the terrible death rate in American
mines thereby reduced to a figure
somewhat approaching the compara-
lively low rate of casualties in Euro
pean coal mines
With the governments method this
aconizng wait at the shaft for the
gas to diSsipHte is done away with
and it is not recess wy to pour fresh
air into the NINE fol the members of
the rescue corps in their oxygen bel
NETS can enter any atmosphere, how
ever deadly. and remain for Il period
of two hours. If there has been an
explosion of gas the members of the
corps enter the mine at once and look
| for small fires that usually follow eX-
| posions These fires are eXtinguiShed
at once. and then the ventilating cur
rent is turned on without any danger.
! In other words. the mines normal con
| dition is restored at the earliest posi-
BILE moment, and the men who are in
the farthermost recesses of the mine,
where the black damp has not yet pen
etrated. are able to walk out.
The station erected at Pittsburg con-
sists of an explosive gallery. where
the powders used in blasting the coal
are tested and standardized. and also a
large room for the training of miners
! in rescue work.
Equipment of the Rescuer.
The oxygen helmet and auxiliary ap-
| paratuS weigh between thirty-fve and
! forty pounds. The helmet is metal
lie case inclosing the head with an
isinglaSS front. The helmet proper is
connected with tubes leading to two
tanks of oxygen. which are carried on
the back in Il manner similar to SOL
dier's knapsack. the straps supporting
it going over the shoulders.
| Each tank contains oxygen sufficient
to last one hour. An indicator attached
to the oxygen tanks shows the wearer
of the helmet just how much time he
may remain in the mine. This is abso-
lutely necessary. for If the rescuer has
walked half mile into mine and 1t
has taken him thirty minutes to tray