Bob Duemmel chats with veteran rescuer Rick Hickman about the realm of mine rescue operations. Hickman is the safety manager at Morton Salt in Painesville, OH, a member of the board of directors for the National Mine Rescue Association and president of the Northern Mine Rescue Association.
Rick, a 38-year veteran of mine rescue operations, shares his knowledge of mine rescue incidents and talks about the changes in the industry since it first began.
He shares the myriad of tools and training that an in-house team receives, plus team organization and effectiveness. They also explore the safety systems that are in place for not only in-house teams, but local fire department responses.
Duemmel and Hickman also talk about a recent mine rescue competition and the criteria that teams are evaluated on.
Please send any questions, suggestions or comments for this podcast to: [email protected].
See Bob Duemmel: Bob will be hosting two live recordings of "The Buzz on Technical Rescue" at Firehouse Expo in Baltimore on July 22 and 23. Bob will also be available at the Firehouse Experts Desk on July 22.
About the Author
Bob Duemmel
Bob Duemmel was the technical rescue editor for Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com. A deputy coordinator for Special Operations in Monroe County, NY he recently retired as a captain with the City of Rochester Fire Department. Bob's involvement in technical rescue is very diverse. He is the Plans Manager for New York Task Force-2 USAR Team, a member of the Western New York Incident Management Team and a member of the New York State Technical Rescue curriculum development team. He is a nationally certified instructor with a focus on technical rescue programs. He has delivered training to fire service, industrial, military and international rescue teams and has assisted with exercise evaluation for the United Kingdom and the European Union's USAR program. Bob has also participated in numerous USAR exercised as both a participant and evaluator. He hosted “The Buzz on Technical Rescue” podcast.