Queensland Mines Rescue Service An International Deployment
Lindsay Creighton
Slide 2
Who Is Queensland Mines Rescue Service (QMRS) Private Company
incorporated. Owned by the Coal mining Industry of Queensland. Non
for Profit Organisation. Provides Training of all Underground Mines
Rescue Members (Volunteers) in Queensland Coal Mining Industry. 7
operational staff and 7 support staff members with 300 volunteer
U/G mines Rescue Team members.
Slide 3
Queensland Mines Rescue Service Operations Dysart Rescue
Station and Head Office Blackwater Rescue Station
Slide 4
Pre Deployment Considerations QMRS Industry Responsibilities.
Continue Training Operations within Queensland. Response capability
Maintained in Queensland. QMRS Capabilities. Ability to respond
with inertisation capability. Rescue team response capability
maintained in Queensland. Maintain Rescue Service Management within
Queensland QMRS Liabilities Setting up Jet operations at a mine not
prepared. Access to normal suppliers not available. Getting
personnel to the affected site. Maintaining personnel levels.
Different environment. Public Expectations of QMRS.
Slide 5
QMRS Planning and Response Disaster Occurred on Friday 19 th
November. QMRS commence planning in event of request for help.
Communication with mining safety commissioner Qld and Emergency
Management Australia over next couple of days. Deployment of first
team and equipment Thursday 25 th November.
Slide 6
Rain Forrest in front of Pike River Portal. Pristine Rain
Forrest. Mountainous area on the West Coast. Inhospitable
conditions for mining.
Slide 7
Pike River Mine PIKE RIVER COAL Greymouth Wellington Lyttelton
Location Map Pike River Mine
Slide 8
Paparoa Seam Brunner Seam Pike River Location New Zealand South
Island, East of Greymouth
Slide 9
Pike River Coal Mine Mine Plan Men working in these areas
Slide 10
Tasks Required to be Done to Mitigate this Disaster
Slide 11
Jet Crew and Equipment Getting to the site Dysart to Mackay
Truck Mackay to Hokatika NZ Air Force Hokatika to Pike River Mine
Truck
Slide 12
Jet Crew Setting up for Jet Operations. Build docking station.
Shipping Container Dock cut into side. Airlock built into
container. Sample tubes built into container. Isolation butterfly
for mine atmosphere isolation. Install Dock station into Mine
Portal
Slide 13
Jet Crew Operations After Preparation and Installation. Jet
crew Operations as Seen from the air. Jet crew Operations from
Ground level.
Slide 14
Jet Fuel Operations Management NZ Air Force. 24 / 7 operation
by the NZ air force. Fuel management manned by NZ Air Force
Personnel. Worked with QMRS seamlessly. Delivered in excess of 1.2
Million Litres of Jet A1 fuel to site.
Slide 15
DOC Operations Assisting with Forrest Installations Installing
Gas Analysis tube bundle lines. Install Floxal delivery line to
slimline borehole. Clearing forrest to erect drilling platforms and
helipads. All work carried out by bushmen access made by trekking
through forrest on foot.
Slide 16
Fire Fighting Operations Teams Arriving at Slimline Travel from
Heliport to the fire front at the Vent Shaft.
Slide 17
Fire Fighting activities No Easy Task Running out Fire Supply
Lines Pump from creek to tank Pump from tank to boreholes Through
Rugged terrain.
Slide 18
Vent Shaft Fire from air after 3 rd Explosion. Scale of
difficulty evident. Vent Shaft Fire from Ground after 3 rd
Explosion. Helipad at rear behind flames. Nearly out! Fire being
quelled but still a threat.
Slide 19
Gas Monitoring through the Incident Response All Gas monitoring
wiped out by blast 1. Had to setup tube bundle system overland. Had
to set up monitoring equipment. Weather caused major problems
maintaining this system.
Slide 20
Pike River Coal Mine Mine Plan Tube Bundle Sampling Points Mine
Portal 2,500 mts
Slide 21
Gas Analysis tools used at Pike River By Queenslands
SIMTARS.
Slide 22
Floxal Inertisation system Set up and Operate. Get a floxal
unit to assist the jet engine. Run delivery lines overland (up to
6Klms). Connect tubes to mine. Continuous operation. Monitor
effectiveness.
Slide 23
Incident Management Team Pike River Management New Zealand
Police Force Department of Conservation (New Zealand) Queensland
Mines Rescue Service SIMTARS (Queensland) Others ie. NZ Fire
Service, Ambulance Service etc.
Slide 24
Incident Management Team - Critical Comments The NZ Police
should not manage this incident! (Media and Public comment) The
Rescue teams should have gone in when window of opportunity
existed! (Just after explosion 1) Lindsay bring my boys home,
Promise me!! (from a Chef at my place of lodgings)
Slide 25
Slide 26
Localised Difficulties Terrain and Forests. Mine built in a
Mountain Range. Access limited by Mining Lease. Rain Forrest
restricting our access to strategic locations. Mine atmosphere
monitoring systems required being run overland.
Slide 27
Local Weather Good Weather (Diagram 1) Good Work schedule
maintained. Access to mountain (helicopters) Drill More Boreholes
Progress maintained. Previous gains safe. Poor Weather (Diagram 2)
Work plan in disarray. Previous work destroyed or substantially
damage. No ability to improve current situation
Slide 28
Localised Difficulties Damage To Infrastructure Vent Fan
destroyed by explosion number 3. Helipad destroyed by explosion 3.
Access to shaft and boreholes severely restricted.
Slide 29
Helipad Grizzly Shaft Make shift after explosions Helipad Vent
Shaft Damaged by Explosion and not safe to use after The 3 rd
explosion and subsequent fire.
Slide 30
Localised Difficulties Time of Year Christmas / New Year
holiday period. People on holidays. Businesses not open. Everything
except the Jet Crew shut down. Local Knowledge. - Access to support
companies and Access to spares. - no immediate access to normal
QMRS suppliers
Slide 31
Incident Management Team and Operational Staff Expectation of
families and the Public. Relentless comment from Media. Expectation
within operational staff members. Severe weather patterns occurring
back home in Australia. Concern of failing.
Slide 32
Jet Engine Problems Fuel System Solenoid Fuel Pump Failures.
Start up safety circuit fault Butterfly valve Bent Mine isolation
valve damaged Loss of water supply. Damage sustained to cooling
tubes. Water supply dirty requiring regular filter cleaning.
Slide 33
Jet Operations Statistics Used >1,200,000 Lts Jet A1 Fuel.
Injected > 42,000,000 Cubic Metres of exhaust Gas into Pike
River. Ran for > 600 hrs from late November 2010 until Early Feb
2011. 34 QMRS Staff and Team Members.
Slide 34
What Happens Now Final Sealing or Re entry / Recovery The
Operation must be safe for all personnel! New Zealand Mines Rescue
Service operation Must be properly financed! Must not be driven by
public emotions! Risk Assessments, plans and tasks already written
in preparation!
Slide 35
Meet My Sons QMRS Team Members.
Slide 36
Safe Operations Mines Rescue Team Members Team Safety is a
management Principle! Operational effectiveness is a forgone
conclusion. Success is dependant on degree of difficulty and mine
owners deciding to fund any operation. QMRS participation is
dependant on being asked for assistance with this operation if it
happens and if New Zealand want our help!