As of January 1, 2005 the Central Mines Rescue Station is a Treasury company of particular importance to the national economy. In the Articles of Association, established in 2004 by the Minister of the Treasury, the Central Mines Rescue Station was given the performance of public tasks involving cooperation in carrying out rescue operations and supporting mining plants in the prevention and liquidation of consequences of mining hazards, as well as providing assistance in situations involving a threat to public safety.
Regional Mines Rescue Stations
For the implementation of statutory duties in providing rescue, CMRS keeps in readiness for taking part in the rescue operations professional units and professional specialist emergency teams.
In RMRS which are local branches of the Company, i.e.:
- RMRS in Bytom,
- RMRS in Jaworzno,
- RMRS in Wodzisław Śląski,
teams for individual groups of mine companies are kept in constant readiness, enabling the immediate operation in case of an emergency.
CMRS TODAY
The Central Mines Rescue Station is a specialized company whose mission is to provide immediate assistance in case of threat to the life or health of employees in the mines and other people in the plant, as well as providing assistance in the event of a threat to public security.
The activities of the Central Mines Rescue Station can be divided into three categories:
intervention in the provision of assistance to miners and mines at risk of the consequences of the underground fires, explosions of mine gas and coal dust, gas and rock outbursts, filling rocks and bursts, sudden water penetrations to mine excavations, as well as removing the effects and recovery of safe working conditions after the occurrence of these events,
preventive consisting in preventing the occurrence of these dangerous events. Such activities include, among others, the development of technologies and expertise in the field of fire dam construction, insulation and reinforcement of the rock mass, as well as direct participation of specialists and professional rescuers in preventive work carried out in the mines,
training conducted in a scope accredited, among others, for the management staff of mines, the staff of mining operations supervision, persons who have to manage rescue operations, rescue team members. The training is carried out, among others, in the sphere of fighting the risks of mining, fire prevention, conducting and managing rescue operations, self-rescue of the team and in assisting in the rescue with the use of ventilation measures, as well as with the use of specialized rescue equipment.
Central Mines Rescue Station carries out its statutory tasks providing the on-call professional rescue teams, professional emergency teams and the on-call teams for groups of mines. To perform rescue work requiring the use of special emergency rescue techniques the CMRS maintains specialized emergency rescue teams:
Measuring team – assigned for performing specialized measurements of physicochemical parameters of air and mine gases and for assessing the explosion degree of gas mixtures. The rescue team is equipped with modern measuring appliances, including mobile measurement stations (micro-chromatographs), as well as handheld devices that are used in the work of monitoring and elimination of fire hazard in underground excavations of the mines.
For inerting the air in the mine – the rescue team uses inert gases in the form of nitrogen derived from the surrounding atmosphere, nitrogen or carbon dioxide gasified from liquid form, as well as damp combustion inert gases, in the process of liquidation of the risk of fire and explosions in the excavations of the underground mines. Inert gases are forced into the endangered area within fire prevention activities and liquidation of underground fires.
The rescue team is equipped with modern technical appliances for obtaining nitrogen from the atmospheric air of the membrane type and the PSA, the equipment for gasification of N2/ C02 from a liquid state, mobile facilities for pumping methane, highly efficient inert gas generators (GGO).
Fire fighting – the task of the rescue team is to carry out emergency rescue work related to extinguishing underground fires. The rescue team has equipment designed for active fire fighting, including apparatus for supplying fire-fighting foams and special equipment designed for the isolation of outbreaks of fire in underground excavations during passive fire fighting. During the conduct of rescue operations members of the rescue team supervise the building of isolation anti-explosion dams.
Mining-technical – team performs specialized rescue work within the emergency rescue and preventive operations consisting in removing the effects of bursts and collapses. Its task is also to perform search-and-supply and evacuation holes – used, among others, to supply the necessary means of subsistence and to evacuate people trapped in underground excavations. The rescue team is equipped with the modern rescue tools with: pneumatic, hydraulic and electric power supply.
The mining-technical rescue team is also equipped with the tools for cutting steel and crushing rocks, as well as appliances for transporting dredged material, and specialized drilling equipment.
Water – rescue team removes the effects of uncontrolled water penetration to mine excavations. The task of the rescue team is also the elimination of water hazard, including the installation and operation of specialized equipment during rescue operations and preventive work. Within water rescue there are also teams for performing underwater works – specialized teams of divers. They are equipped with breathing apparatus and diving suits enabling them to carry out the work e.g. in contaminated waters, and with the use of underwater cameras providing underwater communication. Specialist divers teams have appliances enabling them to conduct rescue work under water including evacuation of victims, underwater transport of equipment and cutting a variety of materials.
Transportable rescue lifts – are used to carry out rescue operations in shafts and large-diameter holes, to evacuate crews from the trapped /stationary/ mine tube hoists, to inspect shafts housing, the technical condition of the equipment, as well as other shaft works, including the removal of energy-machine breakdowns. Within the rescue team there is also a special team for carrying out works at height with equipment that enables the execution of these works.
Central Mines Rescue Station – as the mine rescue unit, regardless of its core business of providing mine rescue safety, also carries out scientific and technical cooperation with national partners, such as, among others: Academy of Sciences in Kraków, Central Mining Institute, Experimental Mine “Barbara”, AGH University of Science and Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Wrocław University of Technology, and the Central Institute for Labour Protection-National Research Institute, KOMAG SA, ITI EMAG and other companies associated with the mining industry and with foreign institutions.
CMRS also provides training abroad by training rescue management staff, as well as mine rescuers, e.g. in Colombia and China. It actively participates in conferences, symposia, international seminars, as well as is a member of international research and development works in the sphere of developing modern rescue equipment.
Within the intervention and prevention activities the Central Mines Rescue Station offers the following:
- the study of air load flows in underground mine excavations using marker gases,
- performing specialist:
– works in the field of fire prevention, including the use of inert gases (N2CO2, flue gases with water vapour),
– measurements of physico-chemical parameters of mine atmosphere,
– inspection and revision works in the shafts of mines using transportable rescue lifts,
– works at heights and diving operations,
– rescue work in the field of technical rescue,
- expertise in assessing the risk of fire.
Central Mines Rescue Station actively participates in the activities of groups and expert committees for the analysis and development of recommendations for the operation and the provisions related to mine rescue. CMRS in addition to conducting rescue operations in the country is ready to participate and takes part in rescue operations outside the boundaries of Poland.