Mountain Laurel’s gold rescue team took the Championship out of 19 teams at the Harlan County Safety Days mine rescue competition held at Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College July 24-26. Also finishing in the top 10 at the Harlan County, Ky., competition were Cumberland River’s blue team, Viper’s red team and Wolf Run’s white team.
“We’re very proud of the rescue teams for achieving top rankings,” said Ken Cochran, senior vice president of operations, Arch Coal. “Our miners depend upon the skills and expertise of our well-trained mine rescue teams, and it is gratifying to know that our team members have demonstrated a high level of proficiency.”
Employees volunteer to be part of mine rescue teams. Teams receive special training in emergency search and rescue. To keep skills sharp, rescue teams compete in local, regional and national competitions to test their abilities in challenges that include first aid, mapping and firefighting, among other skills.
