Mining Product: Emergency Decision-making: Underground Coal Mine Escape Scenarios

This emergency decision-making training provides seven scenarios that are based on actual underground coal mine events. Each scenario includes general information about the mine, maps, and background information to set the stage for the story of how miners evacuated the mine. Instructors lead participants through a scenario stopping at key points where they are given four possible actions that escaping miners could take.

Sometimes it is clear what miners should or should not do for safe and effective self-escape. However, there are times when even subject matter experts disagree about specific actions. The emergency decision-making training provides participants a place to practice making decisions when dealing with difficult circumstances. Participants are not asked to select the best option, but rather to analyze and rate each option. The participants can compare their responses with those given by emergency response experts and with what happened during the real event.

This training was used successfully with miners attending annual refresher training and during mine rescue team training. One scenario takes 45–60 minutes in the classroom.