{"id":6179,"date":"2017-12-14T17:33:05","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T16:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2025.mining-report.de\/english\/?page_id=6179"},"modified":"2019-08-07T15:30:15","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T13:30:15","slug":"imrb-pocc%d0%b8%d1%8f-2017-dream","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mining-report.de\/english\/imrb-pocc%d0%b8%d1%8f-2017-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"IMRB Pocc\u0438\u044f 2017: I Have a Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he International Mines Rescue Body (IMRB) is a \u201cNot for Profit\u201d organisation which was conceptualized in 1998 for freely sharing information relating to safety improvement of the mines rescue profession on a global basis. Twentyfour nations and four associations are members and key contributors to the body who biennially host the IMRB conference and support the International Mines Rescue Competition (IMRC). EMERCOM of Russia hosted the 8th IMRB conference in September 2017 that showcased how advanced, innovative and resourceful emergency response is in their massive resource-rich country. EMERCOM of Russia will be host to the 11th International Mines Rescue Competition in September 2018 and it promises to be a challenging and engaging event that is being designed to accommodate 30 teams from 20 nations.<\/p>\n

Agencia Nacional de Miner\u00eda (ANM) of Colombia, who is the newest member of the IMRB, will host the 9th International Mines Rescue Body Conference in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, from September 7th to 14th, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\t\t

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Author:\u00a0<\/strong>Alex Gryska, OHST, DipAdEd, Secretary Treasurer, International Mines Rescue Body, Sudbury\/Canada \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Fig. 1. Alexander Sin (left) receiving IMRB flag from Helmut Ehnes (center) and Wolfgang Roehl (right) at IMRB Germany 2015 Conference. \/\/ Bild 1. Helmut Ehnes (Mitte) und Wolfgang Roehl (rechts) \u00fcbergeben die Fahne des IMRB an Alexander Sin (links) auf der IMRB Conference 2015 in Deutschland. Photo\/Foto: IMRB Russia 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While still in Germany attending the 7th IMRB conference, Alexander Sin, Head of Directorate of EMERCOM Militarized Mine Rescue Units, proudly accepted the IMRB flag on behalf of EMERCOM of Russia and agreed to host \u201cIMRB Russia 2017\u201d and pieced together his thoughts regarding his vision of the future (Figure\u00a01): \u201cI have a dream. This dream inspires everyone who serves the safety in mining. I have a dream that one day every mine will be accident free, every miner will come back home safe and healthy. I believe with all my heart that step by step, by bringing our efforts together we will fulfill this dream. The coming conference will be the one of these steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

The more than 200 mine rescue experts from 22 nations attending the 8th International Mines Rescue Body Conference learned and experienced, first-hand, not only how large Russia is but also how Russia\u2019s mine rescue system is structured and how challenging it is to respond to mine emergencies in such a vast nation. Coming from Canada, you know how large this country is. However, the visit to Russia added a whole new dimension. After being in transit for an entire day, and after having a short layover in Moscow, the mine rescue experts again boarded for a four hour flight which took them to Novokuznetsk which is located four time zones east of Moscow (Figure 2).<\/p>\n

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Fig. 2. Opening Ceremonies Novokuznetsk Russia. \/\/ Bild 2. Er\u00f6ffnungsfeier im russischen Novokuznetsk.
Photo\/Foto: IMRB Russia 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In order to understand size, Russia covers a total of 11 time zones; in other words it was not even half way across this massive nation when the experts arrived in Novokuznetsk. In addition, Russia is the earth\u2019s largest country covering more than 17 m\u00a0km2<\/sup> or 11\u2009% of the land surface of our planet. Russia\u2019s population is approximately 145 million inhabitants and there are more than 190 different languages spoken by different ethnic groups.<\/p>\n

Mine Rescue in Russia is a professional full-time service with approximately 4,500 mines rescuers who are part of the parent organisation, EMERCOM of Russia which has some 200,000 employees. Vladimir Puchkov is the Minister for \u201ccivil defence, emergencies and elimination of consequences of natural disasters\u201d and answers directly to the President of Russia which enables the organisation to deploy all necessary resources in the event of a natural or industrial disaster.<\/p>\n

As part of a massive overhaul of mine rescue in Russia, the National Mine Rescue Center is being established in Novokuznetsk which is a city of approximately 500,000 inhabitants in south-western Siberia (Figure 3).<\/p>\n

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Fig. 3. National Mines Rescue Center Novokuznetsk Russia. \/\/ Bild 3. Nationales Zentrum f\u00fcr das Grubenrettungswesen im russischen Novokuznetsk. Photo\/Foto: IMRB Russia 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This newly-constructed state-of-the-art facility will include training, virtual reality class rooms, research laboratories, medical workshops, rescuer acclimation and evaluation facilities including residence for mines rescuers who will travel from all across Russia to attend training.<\/p>\n

The theme of IMRB Russia 2017 was \u201cExtending Knowledge… Improving Safety\u201d; which was flawlessly demonstrated at the National Mine Rescue Center where upon arrival delegates were welcomed by the EMERCOM military band followed by comprehensive tours of this world-class facility.<\/p>\n

Conference attendees were provided the opportunity to view existing and new emerging rescue equipment used by EMERCOM\u2019s mines rescue responders. Tours of the facilities and laboratories included everything from exposure to equipment operation in virtual reality settings to demonstration from EMERCOM\u2019s experts and physicians in evaluating the physical and mental capability of mines rescue responders. It was fascinating to learn the importance of relaxation facilities and the unique approaches taken in the prevention and rehabilitation of post incident stress.<\/p>\n

In order to show comprehensive preparation of mine rescuers in this new facility, the EMERCOM hosts provided a simulation demonstrating how an emergency may unfold at one of their typical mining operations (Figure 4).<\/p>\n

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Fig. 4. EMERCOM Mine Rescuers responding to a Mock Mine Emergency. \/\/ Bild 4. Die Grubenwehr des Katastrophenschutzministeriums bei der Demonstration eines beispielhaften Rettungseinsatzes. Photo\/Foto: IMRB Russia 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The audience of more than 200 guests was forewarned that the mock emergency would be initiated with a simulated blast that would start the exercise. A massive explosion that startled the audience initiated the scenario: Several workers collapsed within the mine tunnel being seriously injured. Several emergency response vehicles, manned with mine rescue teams, arrived at the scene and quickly attended to injured workers at one end of the tunnel. Some were taken out on stretchers while others were assisted by being walked out to safety. On the other end of the tunnel, another group of rescuers was fighting a fire with low expansion foam and after several unsuccessful attempts another back-up team resorted to a mobile inertisation unit which finally successfully extinguished the fire.<\/p>\n

All the while during the simulation, drones were flying around the site collecting air sampling data and to top off the exercise an EMERCOM helicopter also landed at the site of the emergency to assist with the situation. Although this was a simulation it showed first-hand how well these EMERCOM of Russia mines rescue teams are trained and also it showed the diversity of equipment that is available to their teams in the event of a real-life emergency.<\/p>\n

The scientific portion of the program consisted of a plenary session followed by 31 presentations in the following concurrent streams which addressed the topics of:<\/p>\n