Mine Rescue Team Members Place in National Competition

Two members of the Kentucky Coal Academy s (KCA) Mine Rescue Team earned national awards at the Mine Safety and Health Administration s (MSHA) biennial mine rescue competition held in Columbus, Ohio, on October 3-6, 2011.

Patrick Gomez won the national championship in the 240R Benchman Contest. In the Bench Contest, contestants who maintain rescue equipment must thoroughly inspect breathing devices that have been tampered with and correct defects quickly.

Chris Williams earned third place in the national Pre-Shift contest. In this contest, miners examine the mine layout area before their work shifts to identify and eliminate existing hazards.

Gomez and Williams are employed at Advent Mining LLC. of Sebree, Kentucky, and are members of the KCA s mine rescue team that covers the state s western coalfields. The team operates out of Madisonville Community College and is under the direction of Danny Knott, KCA Mine Rescue Team Director.

The Kentucky Coal Academy is a state-funded mine training program that operates under the direction of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. For more information about the Kentucky Coal Academy, as well as its mine training and rescue services, visit http://coalacademy.kctcs.edu/