By Peter Ehrhard

September 21, 2018 - The Missouri Mine Rescue Association, in conjunction with Missouri S&T, will host its 36th annual Mine Rescue Competition at Missouri S&T in October.

The competition, which is designed to simulate a mine emergency, will take place Monday, Oct. 1, through Thursday, Oct. 4, at Missouri S&T’s Experimental Mine. Missouri S&T’s student team will compete against multiple teams of professional miners and one other university.

In 2016, Missouri S&T hosted the 34th Annual Mine Rescue Competition designed to simulate a mine emergency at the Experimental Mine in Rolla.

Photo By Sam O’Keefe/Missouri S&T

The competition consists of a written skills test; two hands-on simulated mine disasters (both underground); a first-aid portion with a written test, hands-on CPR and a first-responder scenario; and a team technician portion with a written test and technical troubleshooting of breathing apparatuses and gas instruments.

“The Missouri Mine Rescue Association is one of the strongest in the nation and consists of 10 teams,” says DeWayne Phelps, engineering technician II in mining engineering at Missouri S&T. “The competition is known in the industry as the ‘Little Nationals,’ since many of the best teams come here to compete.”

Staff from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Missouri Department of Labor Cave and Mine Safety will judge the competition.

Teams competing include Central Plains Cement/Talon, Doe Run Gray, Doe Run Maroon, Gateway, Mississippi Lime, Missouri S&T Gold, Vulcan Materials Blue, Martin Marietta, Lafarge POWC, South Dakota School of Mines, Eastwood Fire Dogs, WIPP Red, Martin Marietta Blue, Martin Marietta Granite and Martin Marietta Indiana.

The following S&T students are members of the Gold team:

Ethan Kerr, captain, a senior in mining engineering from Union, Missouri

Adam Reiter, gasman, a senior in mining engineering from Fenton, Missouri

Zack Griffie, map man, a junior in mining engineering from St. Louis

Meena Lahiri, first aid, a senior in mining engineering from Chesterfield, Missouri

Dan Heidrick, co-captain, a senior in mining engineering from Fenton, Missouri

Joshua Miller, fresh air base assistant, a senior in nuclear engineering from Cottage Grove, Minnesota.