The National Western Regional Mine Rescue Competition (NWRMRC) – Eleventh Biennial will be held in Fernie, British Columbia on September 5, 6 & 7, 2013.

Provincial and Territorial Surface and Underground Mine Rescue winners from Western Canada Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories/Nunavut as well, as the winning surface and underground teams from the Northwestern United States make up the competition. Each team participates in five tasks including first aid, fire and smoke simulation, rope task and a written exam.

Surprisingly; a good portion of the general public are not aware of what mine rescue is and the impact that it has on our communities and families.

Mine rescue team members are your neighbours or the face in the crowd who you recognize as a member of the community; they are sometimes the first person to come upon an accident. You may not know at the time, but you are in good hands.

The intense training and numerous hours these individuals put in to hone their skills prior to competing and the teamwork and support from their families all contribute to the competitor’s success during the competition. Camaraderie, sportsmanship and the sense of pride to be a member of a mine rescue team all contribute to a high energy competition where teams compete against their peers; where the stakes are high and competition is fierce.

Here is the history of the Fernie Mine Rescue Competition:
As long as mining has existed, there has been the need for mine rescue. As society’s appetite for goods and services grew in the last half of the nineteenth century, miners everywhere were required to work deeper, faster and harder—sometimes pushing beyond the limits of available technology. The mines that opened in the Crows Nest at the end of the nineteenth century were certainly part of this. Early mine rescue techniques; training and equipment were limited, and relatively ineffective.

In 1909, after a series of gas outbursts at the Carbonado Colliery at Morrissey and an explosion at the Extension mine on Vancouver Island, the British Columbia Mines Act was re-written. The new law required, among other things, that every coal mine be equipped with self contained oxygen breathing apparatus. It also mandated that central supply stations for the training of rescue corps be established and maintained by the government. This marked the beginning of formalized mine rescue in British Columbia.

The Elk Valley station was established at Hosmer – roughly half way between the mines at Coal Creek and those at Michel – in the fall of 1910. A team was soon trained in the use of the new mine rescue breathing apparatus. It was not long before the training of the Hosmer mine rescue team was called upon. An explosion at the Bellevue mine in Alberta in early December 1910 killed many miners and trapped many more. With no mine rescue team of its own, the Bellevue mine called upon the assistance of the Hosmer crew. Lives were saved that day by the use of the more efficient breathing equipment. However, one of the dead was a member of the rescue team from Hosmer. In his Annual Report for 1910, the Chief Mines Inspector recorded that Fred Alderson of Hosmer, B.C., holder of a British Columbia First-class Certificate of Competency, was one among the first to rush to the rescue of the entombed miners at Bellevue, and after saving life succumbed to the deadly gases himself.

By 1913, the Hosmer Station had been closed and a new one established in Fernie. Its first year was a busy one for the Fernie Station. Of the 102 miners issued certificates of competency in 1913, seventy-three were trained at Fernie.

Competitions have always been a part of mine rescue. The chance to practice and showcase skills is only a part of competition; more importantly, the teams get to know and learn from each other. This knowledge pays dividends when their skills are required in a real rescue situation. The earliest well-documented demonstration of mine rescue was held at Forbes Field at Pittsburgh on 30 and 31 October 1911. The task of the team was to enter the test mine, find and remove for treatment three injured miners.

In British Columbia, the Annual Reports of the Department of Mines mention first aid competitions held at various locations in the teens – the first in Fernie was held on July 1st, 1915 on the grounds of today’s city hall. The first mine rescue competition in the Crow’s Nest area was held in Coleman, Alberta on Dominion Day 1916.

Fernie hosted its first competition on Labour Day the next year, although it wasn’t until the formation of the East Kootenay Mine Safety Association in 1919 that competitions became more widespread and regular. The rescue team from Fernie also competed outside the local area. At an international event held at Nanaimo in 1919, it placed third, surpassed only by two teams from the United States.

The reputation of local mine rescue teams continued to grow. During the mid 1920s, the team from Coal Creek won the East Kootenay competition four times and the Vancouver Island competition three times. That reputation was sustained over the years and was a source of great local pride. Fernie teams captained by Joe Haile won many prizes in the thirties. The fiftieth annual report of the Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Company in 1946 featured a photograph of the Elk River Colliery (Coal Creek) Mine Rescue team. In 1967, the Michel Colliery team captained by Fernie’s Bill Milburn won the East Kootenay competition. At Trail in June, the Michel team went on to capture the provincial crown and, at the first national competition ever to be held, became Canada’s champion in the country’s centennial year.

Building from an idea suggested in 1991, in 1993 Fernie hosted the first Fernie Western Regional Mine Rescue Competition to promote the mining industry, the safety in the industry and the area as well. Originally planned as an invitation only competition, it changed to the winners only of the Provincial Mine Rescue Competitions for the current year and previous year, in their respective province or state, would be eligible to attend.

The Fernie Competition was further enhanced by Westray Commissioner Justice K. Richards’ recommendation that….”Mine Rescue Competitions, long a fixture in the underground mining industry, provide a valuable training incentive for miners. These competitions should be continued.”

As a result of those comments the Chief Inspectors of Mines agreed that Canada should be divided into regions to deal with issues related to emergency preparedness and response. The NWRMRC (National Western Region Mine Rescue Committee) and the City of Fernie partner to ensure the Fernie Mine Rescue Competition tests the emergency preparedness and response capabilities rescue teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon and the northwestern United States.

The City of Fernie and its mine rescue committee are responsible for sponsoring and organizing the competition, while the NWRMRC is responsible for organizing the tasks. The competition is designed to recognize, showcase and celebrate the work and dedication of those involved in emergency response and mine rescue. Held every other September since then, underground and surface mine rescue teams from the western Canadian provinces and territories as well as the western states gather in Fernie to compete and is gaining popularity.

The competitions renew and reinforce the bonds established by their predecessors. More formally the areas represented are part of a disaster response plan designed to provide mutual assistance when required. As in1910, the example set by the Hosmer team has continued – borders are ignored when the need is there.