The copper era and Morenci leader., 1914-05-01
MOVEMENT FOR A
MINE RESCUE
STATION

The effort being made by Professor
Willis, of the University Mining De-
partment to have a mine rescue sta
ton established at Tucson is a COM
mendable one, and should enlist what
ever aid from the chambers of com
merce and others that may be desira-
BILE or necessary
1t has been the wish of the
University to establish here a mine
rescue station in order that the laws
concerning mine rescue work might
be complied with, which it is impossi-
Bile for them to be at present. With
the establishment of such station
the University of Arizona would be in
a position to train men in the work
and to be of service in almost any dis
trict of the state in case of emergency.
Last night Professor Willis of the
University Bureau of Mines made the
following statement concerning such
action:
Section 4OS5 of the Mining Code
of 1913, reads AT any mine employ
ing % or more men under ground
there shall be provided and kept in a
readily accessible place, at least two
fire fighting helmets in case of emer-
gency. Also the operator or superin-
tendent of such mine shall provide
for the training of a crew of men in
the use of these helmets and tests at
least monthly of the helmets by act
ual use thereof by such crew shall be
made
1t is now impossible to train mne in
the use of this apparatus without go
ing to great expense, and it is criminal
to send but two men into the ground
alone to fight a fire or to rescue others,
as it is but putting two more lives in
a very dangerous position.
If the men are not thoroughly train
ed in the use of this apparatus man
is taking his life in his own hands to
try to enter a shaft with it on. as the
he is working or resting. He does
not know what he can do until he has
thoroughly tried it out.
We should have a station in Arizona
consisting of the necessary apparatus
mounted on a car so that in case of
emergency a call could be sent in
and the trained and competent men
would be Immediately sent out. This
part of Arizona is accessible to al
most every property of any size in the
state and because of it's central posi-
ton would be better than any other
part of the state. If such a station
were established here, the mining
students could be trained in their
Junior year, and in this way the Uni
versity Seniors would always be avail
able for rescue call.
We could not only train the Univer-
sity students, but could train the res
cue crews of the different mines Of
the state; in this way efficient training
would be assured and also something
to fall back upon in case the crew of
the mine was not able to handle the
trouble. At the same time we would
make it possible for the mining prop
critics to fulfill the law. In case the
rescue work was continuous one crew
would not last over two hours, as a
man has done all he is capable of
doing in that time. IN case of a big
accident, the University crew could
be called out. 1t is also very impor-
4 tant matter that men do not attempt
rescue work without a phsyical eXami-
naion, for if they have weak hearts
or weak lungs they have their own
natural resources against them and
have no business undertaking the
work, for it is nearly certain to mean
extra lives if the trouble is very strain
ing.
The mine crews are usually very
transient, one crew at the best not last
ing over three years. This fact makes
it of all the more Importance to have
training school within the reach of
every mine of the state, so that when
I one man drops out another may be
trained. 1t costs from $S to $40 for
actual material used to train one man
Actual mine rescue work costs about
so cents per man an hour. If each
mine of the state would come up with
its share, the expense would be COM
paratively small for the cost of estab-
fishing such a station would be about
$500 90. This would give six helmets,
pulmoter and other apparatus The
cost of keeping up such a station
would be about $500 per year,this sum
lowering or raising according to the
number of men trained, and whether
the University sent training crew to
the mine or the mine sent its men to
the University to be trained.