Published: September 17, 2025 |

[Click image to enlarge]

Hundreds of coal miners from five states are competing in a coal mine rescue competition at Chief Logan State Park.

The miners competing came from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Alabama to participate in the Fallen Heroes Mine Rescue Contest.

Safety teams are each given an emergency situation, and must work together to navigate a mock coal mine and conduct a rescue.

Dave Green, a member of the Alpha Metallurgical mine rescue team, said that the contest helps coal miners practice several different aspects of the job in a controlled environment.

“I mean at the end of the day, it’s fields, it’s not a real coal mine. So it’s a training exercise, but a lot of things translate to the real world. You think about the teamwork, and the communication, the mapping, problem solving, what we’re doing really does translate into the work we might have to do in a real coal mine event,” Green said.

Teams must navigate a traffic cone course littered with mock hazards. They also deal with several compounding challenges, ranging from toxic gas and cave-ins to unstable roofs and encountering injured miners along the way.

“These training exercise gives guys the taste of the real thing. It teaches them how to keep a calm demeanor about them and work through obstacles they’re not normally encountering in, in normal mining conditions,” said Brent Bender, the contest director.

This year, 18 teams participated in the contest. Each team is followed closely by three judges that penalize the safety teams for any mistakes they make and keep track of how long it takes them to conduct a rescue.

Green said that the competition gets heated, but at the end of the day, coal mine safety teams are a brotherhood that must make quick decisions that can be the difference between life and death.

“A big thing is, you look around and all these teams are competing against each other. But in a real event, we all have one goal. The names on people’s shirts mean a whole lot less when it’s not a competition,” Green said.

“Honestly, I think at the heart of everybody is a person who cares about their fellow miner. They’re willing to put themselves out there to help others. There’s a heart of giving at the heart of every mine rescue guy for sure,” Green added.

The Fallen Heroes Mine Rescue Competition will continue on Wednesday and Thursday. Teams will compete in first-aid, pre-shift preparation, breathing apparatus maintenance and take a written exam before the results are announced.

Source: WOWK TV

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!