The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1924-01-24
BREATHING APPARATUS
FOR NINE RESCUE WORK
WIDE USE IN METAL AND COAL
MINEs-MEANS OF saw
ING MANY LIVES.

Nearly 10000 miners In the United
etates have been granted certificates
~. the department OF the interior fol-
~. proficiency in the use of self
,tained mines rescue oxygen
sroatbing apparatus after a complete
eourse of training from instructors OF
che bureau of mines. Several thous-
md other miners have been trained
~, state mining departments and
nine operators. Several thousand
-oif-contained mine rescue oxygen
hreathing apparatus have been sold in
be United states; the bureau OF
mines alone owns 300 sets, and en-
Moves of the bureau of mines have
used breathing apparatus as a means
of saving life or property at 151 mine
eynlosions or mine fires.
Tn some states, notably Utah and
Washington, mining codes require
rescue apparatus to be part of the
4onipment at mines of a certain size
and character. State mine rescue
stations have been established by IL
linois. Ohio, Kansas and West Virgin
ia Mine insurance rates under COM
nensation insurance laws for certain
classes of mines are considerably
lowered in a number of states by the
installation of mine rescue apparatus
and mine rescue stations. Many large
progressive mining companies now
maintain a regularly trained rescue
corps of five or more men each, equip
ned with the necessary apparatus.
Army Gas Mask Dangerous.
Breathing apparatus include all the
devices that enable their wearers to
live in poisonous or suffocating gases,
such as smoke filled air or air part
" depleted of the oxygen necessary to
life. These devices differ widely. One
type is the army gas mask which re-
moves small amounts of certain pois-
onous gases from the air breathed.
Such a mask is worse than useless in
mine; it is dangerous to life and
should never be used underground.
Another type supplies the wearer
with air pumped through line OF
hose. By the designation self-con-
tanned portable mine rescue oxygen
breathing apparatus is meant only
the kinds of breathing apparatus that
are carried entirely by the wearer and
from a small steel tank, bottle, or CYL
inder on his back supply him with
breathable air that contains oxygen
of high purity.
Ordinarily after a mine explosion
and often in a mine fire the mine air
loses so much oxygen and contains
such an amount of poisonous gases
formed during the explosion or fire
that it can not be breathed safely;
the use of breathing apparatus allows
rescue and fire fighting crews to en-
ter such atmospheres. Any one of
the four types of apparatus in most
general use in the mining districts of
the United States will supply its
wearer with good air for at least two
hours. no matter how bad the sur
rounding air may be.
rirs. Srearn,ng OeVice IN 1893.
Inc history Oh breathing apparatus
ua,es DacA at least 10 1898, when
11OlessUr Scnwaun devised portable
machine siln4lar 10 tnOse III use To-Day
lof q pr4Ae competition OIL the Beigiah
Academy OIL science. The tleuss ap-
paratus III It's original form was de-
signed ny ii. A. rIeuss over Az years
agO Ia England. In 1913 an early type
OIL the DraegeI apparatus appeared IN
q
experiments in breathing apparatus
were mainly confined to European
countries, the value OF the apparatus
beng quickly recognized by various
European eInments. The Phila-
delphla & Reading Coal & Iron com
pany of Pennsylvania and the Ana
conda Copper Mining company OF
Butte, Mont, were among the hrst
companies in this country to provide
rescue apparatus at their mines, ma
king these installations about 1907.
The bureau of mines has no au-
thority to require the installation OF
rescue stations, the purchase of res
cue apparatus or the training of min
ers; such authority rests with the
states alone. The bureau does give
training, advice and assistance at the
request of operators, miners and state
mining departments, and maintains
the closest possible contact and coop
Grafton with them
-Four makes of 2-hour oxygen
breathing apparatus are in general
use in the mining districts of the
United States at present. These are
the Gibbs, the Paul, the Fleuss-Prot-
to and the Draeger.
Auto Trucks Transport Equipment
Auto trucks are used by the bureau
of mines and by various mining com
panies to transport rescue equipment
quickly to a disaster. The bureau OF
mines maintains 10 mine rescue cars
IL safety stations and 10 mine rescue
trucks in various mining districts OF
the United States and Alaska Sew
eral IL ton trucks have been built
with enaciaI bodies for carving men