SURFACE

ORGANIZATION
MSHA-2201
NOVEMBER 1981
MARCH 2005

Northern Mine Rescue

Association

INTRODUCTION

A mine rescue and recovery operation

does not simply consist of a team going
into a mine to rescue survivors or to
put out a fire. It consists of much more
- a whole network of people and
services to direct and support the entire
operation, especially the rescue teams.

INTRODUCTION

When your team arrives at a mine to

begin rescue work, the rescue and
recovery operation will probably have
already begun on the surface. Several
officials and mine personnel will have
been called to the mine site to assume
their duties in a chain-of command.
Also, several mine facilities will have
been set up to handle the large number
of people and services required for the
operation.

INTRODUCTION

This training session on surface

organization is designed to familiarize
you with how a rescue and recovery
operation is organized and managed so
that you can better understand the role
the team plays in relation to the overall
organization.

INTRODUCTION

The first few hours after an emergency

occurs at a mine are often the most
critical to saving survivors and/or the
mine property, so it is particularly
important that surface organization be
well-planned and well-managed.

Objective 1:

The team members will become familiar

with the mines emergency notification
plan

Visual 1

NOTIFICATION PLAN

Each mine should

have an Emergency
Notification Plan for
notifying necessary
personnel when there
is an emergency at
the mine. This plan
lists the various
supervisors,
administrators, and
government officials
who have to be
notified of the
emergency.

NOTIFICATION PLAN

Mines are required by law to also have

and post a Mine Rescue Notification
Plan for notifying all the mine rescue
team members that will be needed to
assist in the rescue and recovery
operation. This Mine Rescue Notification
Plan may be part of the Mine
Emergency Notification Plan.

Examples of the supervisors and

administrators who would be included in
such a plan are the:

Mine Manager
Mine Superintendent
Mine Foreman (off
shift foreman also)
Safety Director
General Mine
Manager

General Mine
Superintendent
District Inspectors
(State and Federal)
Chief, State
Department of
Mines
District MSHA office;
and
District office of
miner's union (if
involved)

Mine Notification Plan

The mine's
notification plan
should also include
any other people or
services that will be
needed at the mine
site such as police
officers, supply clerks,
telephone operators,
medical personnel,
ambulances, and
other emergency
vehicles.

Objective 2:

The team members will understand the

importance of establishing a chain-ofcommand and identify the teams place
in this chain

ESTABLISHING A CHAIN-OFCOMMAND

A great number of people will be

doing many different jobs during a
rescue and recovery operation.
Therefore, it is important to
establish a clear chain-of-command
so that surface arrangements can
be handled smoothly and so that
the rescue and recovery work itself
can be well coordinated.

ESTABLISHING A CHAIN-OFCOMMAND

Located at the top of the chain-ofcommand is the mine manager or

the mine superintendent. The
manager or superintendent usually
delegates responsibility for various
jobs to other people. These people
must know exactly what their
duties and responsibilities are, who
to report to, and who reports to
them. Later on in the lecture we
will discuss one way of dividing up
these duties and responsibilities.

ESTABLISHING A CHAIN-OFCOMMAND

State and Federal

officials will arrive at
the mine site to advise
and observe. Federal
officials can take
charge of an operation
if they deem it
necessary, but normally
their role is to consult
with and advise the
company personnel on
how the rescue and
recovery work might
best be carried out.

ESTABLISHING A CHAIN-OFCOMMAND

The rescue team is

one link in the chainof-command. The
team is under the
direct supervision of
the team captain, and
the team captain
deals with the Safety
Director or other
designated official
who is responsible for
the rescue teams.

MAKING SURFACE
ARRANGEMENTS

Surface arrangements cover a wide

range of activities and require the
coordinated efforts of many people.
Surface arrangements include such
tasks as establishing a command center
where all the decisions are made,
providing an adequate information
center from which all public information
is released, and obtaining and
distributing necessary supplies and
equipment.

Objective 3:

The team members will identify the

various facilities and arrangements
normally recommended for carrying out
a rescue and recovery operation

Suggested Facilities &

Arrangements

Command Center

Located at the hub of the mine

rescue operation is the command
center, which is where the people in
charge gather to plan and direct the
rescue and recovery operation.

Visual 2

Command Center

The command center will have

communications equipment in it
connected to the underground phones
and to other surface phones, along with
mine maps for following the progress of
the teams and for marking findings and
figuring out strategies.

Waiting Area for Teams

When the teams

arrive at the mine
site, they should be
checked in and
assigned to a team
area.

Waiting Area for Teams

A "rotation schedule" should be worked

up by the Safety Director (or whoever is
in charge of the teams) for the
deployment of all teams called to the
mine site. The rotation schedule will
assign teams to work at certain
intervals and will designate when each
team is to serve as a backup team to
the fresh air base or as a standby team
on the surface.

Bench Area for Apparatus

An area that has work

benches and where
water is available should
be set aside as an
apparatus room where
the apparatus can be
cleaned, tested, and
prepared for use by the
bench men or by the
team members
themselves. If
convenient, the Mine
Rescue Station can be
used as a bench area for
the apparatus.

Security

Having good security at the mine is important in

order to keep the roads open and to ensure that
curious bystanders do not hinder the mine
rescue effort and are not injured while on the
mine property.

All roads and paths leading to the mine should

be secured and guarded by assigned company
personnel or police officers. Incoming traffic on
the roads leading to the mine property should
also be regulated by authorized personnel to
keep unnecessary vehicles off the roads so that
they can remain open for needed personnel,
supplies, emergency vehicles, and so forth.

Information Center

Some Sort of an information center

should be established on the surface for
authorizing and issuing all information
that is released to the public. The
center should preferably be directed by
a company official or by a State or
Federal official authorized to issue news
releases to the press and to any
families and friends of trapped or
otherwise involved miners.

Information Center

In addition to the person issuing the

information, a company or government
spokesperson is sometimes authorized
to deliver the news releases to the
public and to answer any questions that
may arise.

Information Center

Copies of all news releases should be

given to the news reporters to help
prevent any confusion or misconstrued
facts. Also, a copy of each news release
with the time and date it was issued
should be placed on file for future
record.

Waiting Area for Families and Friends

A special room will

usually be set aside as a
waiting room for the
families and friends of
any trapped or otherwise
involved miners. The
waiting families and
friends should be kept
informed as to the
progress of the rescue
and recovery operation
with hourly or periodic
progress reports issued
from the information
center.

Press Room

An area completely separate

from the family waiting area
should be set up as a
pressroom, where media
representatives can gather to
receive the news releases
issued from the information
center.

News reporters should be

restricted from wandering
about the mine property, as
they could receive
information, which is based on
speculation, or further upset
the waiting families by trying
to film them or interview them

Food and Sleeping Quarters

Arrangements for food and sleeping

quarters should be made for all
personnel at the mine. Usually food is
brought in and rooms at a nearby motel
are reserved. If there aren't any nearby
motels, arrangements should be made
for sleeping quarters at the mine

Laboratory

If it will be necessary to test samples of the

mine air during the rescue and recovery
operation, a laboratory with suitable air analysis
equipment should be set up at the mine for
testing such air. If this is not possible, the air
samples may have to be sent to an off-site
laboratory for analysis.

Sometimes, mobile air analysis equipment,

such as that on a mine rescue van, can be
brought to the mine site for quick air analyses.

Medical Facilities

Some arrangement for medical services

and facilities should be made. This
could range from standby ambulances,
EMTs, and a first aid room to a
temporary hospital, depending on the
situation.

Temporary Morgue

In situations where bodies are being

recovered from the mine, a temporary
morgue will be necessary.

Objective 4:

The team members will identify the

various personnel and duties normally
involved in surface organization

Suggested Personnel and Their Duties

As mentioned, a great number of

people will be doing many different
kinds of jobs during a rescue and
recovery operation. These range from
making sure that necessary supplies
are ordered and on the way to making
the plans for the actual rescue and
recovery operation.

Suggested Personnel and Their Duties

The following list of personnel and their

duties suggests the people that may be
involved in surface organization during
a mine emergency and describes how
the duties might be broken down.

Mine Manager or Superintendent:

If the mine has a mine manager as well as a

mine superintendent, the manager usually
carries full responsibility for the rescue and
recovery operation. In these cases, the mine
superintendent works directly under the
manager. In situations where the mine does not
have a mine manager, the superintendent is in
charge of the operation.

The mine manager or superintendent should

establish the command center and oversee all
aspects of the rescue and recovery operation.
He or she will delegate responsibility for various
aspects of the operation as necessary or
according to a prearranged plan.

Mine Manager or Superintendent:

It is suggested that the manager or

superintendent establish an advisory
committee composed of company and
Federal representatives. and (if
involved) State and union
representatives to serve and advise
during each shift at the command
center.
This committee, along with the mine
manager or superintendent, could also
serve as a briefing/debriefing
committee to inform teams going into
the mine and to gather information
from teams coming out of the mine.

Mine Manager or Superintendent:

The mine manager or superintendent

should also designate both an official to
serve as the fresh air base coordinator
for each shift, and an advisory
committee to serve and advise the
coordinator during each shift at the
command center.
Also, this person should designate
someone to direct the information
center and issue news releases.

Mine Manager or Superintendent:

The mine manager or superintendent

should be sure to delegate personnel to:

Notify the families of any (trapped miners,

which should be done in person if possible

Notify the families of any miners or other

personnel who have been authorized to stay at
the mine site as emergency operations
personnel

Monitor the underground phone circuit

continuously, regardless of whether or not it
appears to be operational

Obtain gas samples from the main exhausts

2.Mine Clerk:

A mine clerk will likely be designated as

responsible for all necessary
communication coming into and out of
the command center. The duties of the
mine clerk are to:

a. Notify all persons on the notification

plan and inform them of the emergency

b. Attend the telephone at the

command center

c. Assign people for errand duty

3. Chief Electrician:

The duties of the chief electrician are

to:

a. When authorized by the person in

charge, pull and immediately lock all
electric switches controlling the
electricity to the mine

b. Provide the materials for additional

telephone communications as needed

c. Arrange for any needed assistants

4. Chief Mechanic or Mechanical

Foreman:

The duties of the chief mechanic are to:

Check explosion doors (for exhausting fan) or

weak wall (for blowing fan) for damage. Make
sure explosion doors are closed/or weak wall is
repaired

Check fan and, if necessary, instruct an

electrician or machinist to make repairs to the fan

Monitor the operation of the fan and the

atmosphere in and around the fan house if the
fan is exhausting. With an exhausting fan, proper
precautions should be taken to avoid asphyxiation
or an explosion in the fan house

Alter ventilation only when ordered to do so by

the person in charge

5. Outside Foreman:

The duties of the outside foreman are to:

Arrange for guards and state and/or local police to:
Rope off and guard all mine openings
Guard all roads and paths leading to the mine

Designate a person as a check man to monitor people

entering and leaving the mine. The check man should:
Attend to his/her assigned station within the roped off area
Allow no one to go underground except persons authorized
by the officials in charge
Examine each person (entering the mine) for matches and
smoking materials, making no exceptions
Check off each person by name and number and record
the time as they go in and come out of the mine

Set up an eating area and make sure that ample food and
drinks are available for the rescue team. and other
personnel
Set up medical facilities (first aid room, triage center,
emergency hospital), restroom, and a temporary morgue,
if necessary, and make arrangements for sleeping quarters

6. Safety Director:

The safety director is usually responsible

for the mine rescue teams. The duties
that the safety director would normally
have are to:

Assemble mine rescue teams and first-aid crews

Provide facilities and equipment for testing,

cleaning, and recharging the breathing apparatus

Assign personnel to issue, record, and return mine

rescue equipment

Consult with the mine manager or superintendent

regarding plans for the rescue and recovery
operation

Establish a rotation schedule for the rescue

teams.

Visual 2

6. Safety Director:

The rotation schedule should be designed so

there is a clear order of team usage and so
backup teams are always available. There
should be an adequate amount of time allotted
for resting teams and for cleaning, testing, and
preparing the apparatus.

Exactly how the schedule is set up depends on

how many teams are available to the rescue
operation, what the conditions are
underground, and what the service time of the
apparatus is. It is often recommended that no
rescue operation start with less than three
teams ready and available on the property.

7. Chief Engineer:

The duties of the chief engineer are to:

Supply the command center with copies of

maps showing the regular flow of air and
the location of ventilation controls, doors,
pumps, substations, machinery, and the
electrical system with control switch
locations

Alert adjoining mines if they are connected

under-ground with the affected mine

If needed, obtain maps of adjoining mines

Make arrangements to furnish drilling rig

equipment if needed

8. Supply Clerk:

The supply clerk (or clerks) is responsible for

obtaining and distributing all the equipment and
supplies used for the operation. The duties of
the supply clerk are to:

Prepare an inventory of existing equipment and

supplies

Contact other mines and suppliers to obtain

other needed supplies and equipment

Provide the following for immediate use: nails,

brattice cloth, hatchets, axes, saws, picks,
boards, telephones, wires, any needed gas
testing equipment, sledge hammers, slate bars,
shovels, timbers, stretchers, batteries, and
first-aid cabinets.

8. Supply Clerk:
(continued)

Provide the following for authorized

personnel: coveralls, safety shoes, gloves,
caps, flashlights, safety glasses, and lamp
belts

Keep a record of all equipment issued and

returned

9. Lamp man:

The lamp man is responsible for

issuing all cap lamps, selfrescuers, check numbers or tags.
The duties of the lamp man are
to:

See that each person receiving

a lamp is approved by the mine
manager or superintendent

Record the equipment issued

and returned

Give each person going

underground a check number

Record the name and number

of each person going
underground in a book.

10. Mine Foreman:

The duties of the mine foreman are to:

Organize underground operations for

each shift in cooperation with the person
in charge, Federal inspectors, and (if
involved State inspectors and union
representatives

Provide suitable transportation for

people and supplies, as needed

11. Other Company Personnel:

The duties of other company personnel

are to:

Assemble organizations according to the

pre-arranged plan

Stand by until ordered to assist or leave.