2016. 04. 14..
Since 2014, we have been organising theoretical and practical firefighting trainings at our mining sites on a regular basis with the involvement of the local fire departments. From this year, we wished to take this cooperation to a new level with the assistance of the competent disaster management directorates. Fortunately, our initiative was received positively, paving the way for a series of three drills in Nógrádkövesd in March 2016, and a similar training in Gyöngyössolymos in September 2016.
According to the imaginary scenario of the Nógrádkövesd rescue exercise, one of our machines fell to a lower quarry level and caught fire during a blast. The roads of the mine became inaccessible due to the fragmented piles of rocks, making the rescue of our unconscious colleagues difficult. The fire that sprung out on the machine threatened the life of the workers trapped inside the cab, requiring the responding firefighters to extinguish the flames. The injured employees were evacuated by the members of the special rescue squad, who used rope access techniques to descend on the side of the quarry wall.
The September drill in Gyöngyössolymos entailed the modelling of a more complex emergency situation with the simultaneous application of multiple sorts of rescue operations. Similarly to the Nógrádkövesd exercise, the imitated accident started with blasting works: as a result of the rockslide, some of our colleagues were stuck in a vehicle. To make things worse, fire broke out in the plant’s old control tower, trapping an employee. In a situation modelled during a further exercise, a hiker walked onto the area of the quarry from the nearby tourist trail, and had to be located with a specially-trained search dog.
Each of the events was monitored on site by the employees of the Government Office’s Mining Department, who spoke highly of the emergency management procedures and the work of our miners. The joint efforts were highly successful, owing to the experience of the participating external personnel and the expertise of Colas’ employees.
