Published: January 17, 2011 |

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Black Mountain Resources Mine Safety Director Roger Gilliam knows the value of having a well-trained Mine Emergency Technician (MET). He’s seen evidence of their importance while working on the mine site.

“Situations at every coal mine arise,” Gilliam said. “That’s just the nature of it. But when you have a highly-trained and efficient MET on site, situations are often kept from becoming bad situations.”

“It’s called the ‘Golden Hour,’” added Murrel Dixon, who works as the Kentucky Coal Academy’s program director at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. “Everyone trained in emergency services knows the response made and the care administered during that first hour of an incident can make a major difference in the seriousness of the matter.”

Both Gilliam and Dixon can recall several emergency situations arising on the mine site that had happier endings because of the service provided by METs. From gashes and burns to broken bones and heart attacks, training received as a MET ensures a safer and more productive work environment in the coal fields.

MET classes are growing in popularity with the Kentucky Coal Academy, especially with the training services provided by the KCA through Southeast Community and Technical College. Offered at the Blanton Building in Cumberland, MET classes are producing a growing number of first responders for the mining industry throughout the region. Area safety directors, like Gilliam, said coal operators were pleased with not only the quality of miners the KCA was producing, but the availability of efficiently-trained METs.

“For instance,” Gilliam recalled. “We had an employee who was exhibiting symptoms of a heart attack. We had a MET on site and he was able to administer a proper medical evaluation, get him to the surface in a timely manner where he was eventually transported to a hospital and airlifted out for treatment. Without that timely response, it could have been very different. The outcome would not have been so good. This employee recovered, and he is very thankful for this MET, and so is his family. METs provide an invaluable service to the coal industry. “

Dixon, who has worked with SKCTC’s mine training program for 18 years, said that MET training was not only beneficial for the industry, but for miners, themselves. He said MET training was job security.

“It’s always been required for mine operations to have a person present trained in first aid,” Dixon said. “METs basically have the same training as EMTs, but they are strictly used for mining purposes only. They undergo the regular first responder training, but they are also presented scenarios that are conducive to being at a mine site.”

Dixon said state regulations require the presence of a MET at a mine operation and an additional one for every 50 employees.

“If you are a trained MET, then your presence is highly sought after at the mines,” Dixon said. “That’s why we’re seeing more and more miners take the MET training. A lot of mine operators actively recruit METs and some will even pay extra for them.”

A MET class has just recently begun at Southeast’s Kentucky Coal Academy. The class will undergo vigorous training in first-aid, basic paramedics, and emergency services and will be required to receive 40 hours of training before they take the certification test. While Dixon said the KCA offers the MET training to local companies “as needed,” he added that his program also offers bi-term classes to the general public.

“Statistics are showing that the MET training we’re offering here is making a difference on the work site,” Dixon said. “We stay busy offering and teaching the classes and our mine companies say they are pleased with the caliber of training we’re producing.”

Kentucky Coal Academy Executive Director Bill Higginbotham said the MET class was just one of several high-tech training services offered by his program. While Higginbotham takes pride in the state-of-the-art mine simulators provided by the KCA to mine training classrooms such as Southeast’s Blanton Building, he said the “hands-on” teaching one receives through classes such as the MET is just as valuable as the equipment operator classes.

“We have the biggest mine training simulator fleet in the world,” Higginbotham said. “Students enrolled in Kentucky Coal Academy classes receive the best training in equipment operation, but they also receive the best training in other areas that are just as valuable and needed such as emergency medical services. Our Kentucky Coal Academy instructors do a fantastic job providing training services in all areas and on all levels. I believe it’s the sincerity of our trainers, like Murrel Dixon at Southeast, that make our training services a cut above the rest.”

Launched in 2005, the Kentucky Coal Academy is a state mine training program offered under the auspice of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. The Kentucky Coal Academy currently offers mine training at Southeast, along with Hazard Community and Technical College, Big Sandy Community and Technical College, and Madisonville Community College. The mission of the Kentucky Coal Academy is to rebuild an aging industry workforce with highly educated and skilled miners and to secure good-paying jobs. Currently, starting wages for coal miners in Kentucky is $40 to $50,000 with salaries as high as $80 to $100,000 for more experienced miners.

According to Dixon, Southeast has the oldest mine training program in the state.

“We’ve been here since the early 60s,” Dixon said. “And we’ve been here through the tough times of the mine industry and during the booming times. We’ve been working hard to produce 2,000 to 3,000 coal miners a year, and feel mighty proud in the fact that our efforts are not only benefiting coal miners and their families on an individual basis, but that we’re also helping to keep our coal mining industry vital and thriving.”

By: Jennifer McDaniels, Kentucky Coal Academy Public Relations Specialist

For more information about MET classes or other mine training services offered through the Kentucky Coal Academy at Southeast, contact Dixon at (606) 589-2145.

Stop by Kentucky Coal Academy’s Web site, CLICK HERE