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Thankfully, after a day of sitting on needles, I find out that residents of my home town, friends, nieghbours and former classmates, are all safe and sound. But not all the employees involved are from Esterhazy, but from areas as far away as Melville, Brenbury, Russell, Moosemin, and Tantallon.
It was kinda cool to see my Dad's cousin being interviewed on CTV.
'All you had was your headlamp,' miner says
Last Updated Mon, 30 Jan 2006 17:04:19 EST
CBC News
Miners who were trapped in sealed underground rooms as a fire roared through a Saskatchewan potash mine say they tried to quell their fears by playing cards and debating rescue strategies.
FROM JAN. 30, 2006: All 72 miners surface after Saskatchewan fire
Yet several miners said they had no qualms about returning to work within days at the mine near Esterhazy, about 210 kilometres northeast of Regina.
"That's the risk of mining, I guess," said Luc Morrison, 26, who has worked at the Mosaic facility for 4½ years operating machines that chew through the pink rock.
'We tried to make up the best scenarios'
Morrison said it was a typical night shift until about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, when the lights went out. At first, he thought it was a power bump, but as the minutes ticked away in the gloom of the mine, it became clear it was something more serious.
"All you had was your headlamp," he said.
Word quickly spread that there was a fire in the mine. Morrison left in a truck to head to one of the emergency refuge stations, which had enough internal oxygen supplies to last at least 36 hours, as well as water, food, blankets, chairs and beds.
Four other men were in the room with him. They spent the next day trying to keep their minds busy, going over maps and trying to figure out where the fire was, Morrison said.
"We tried to make up the best scenarios," said Morrison, who comes from Beresford, N.B., and has many family members who are miners.
'We had oxygen bottles and some supplies there to keep a guy going'
Dan Bulischak, who had worked in the mine for about eight months, said his shift was just ending when the fire was spotted.
"We had good oxygen in there. We had oxygen bottles and some supplies there to keep a guy going," said Bulischak, who is from Russell, Man.
"A lot of us – most of us, if not everyone – knew we were fairly safe there because the smoke was going away from us, and everyone pretty much knew that. So the main concern of everyone was just to wait it out in that area, with a group of 30 guys sweating it out."
Kirk Burkholder said he spent the time trying to distract himself from thoughts of his wife and two young children.
"We all sat around and got a game of cards going and just kind of visited. And waited. And waited. And waited," Burkholder said.
"We weren't scared at all. It's something we're trained to do. Yeah, you got things running through your mind. ...how long is it going to take, are there other guys in trouble?"
'It was a good feeling to get upstairs'
It took emergency crews until midnight to extinguish the stubborn fire. After that, it took several hours to clear the smoke and toxic fumes before they could start removing miners from the refuge stations.
Morrison and his companions were able to speak to their families on radiophones on Sunday night but didn't reach the surface until about 6 a.m. Monday.
"It was a good feeling to get upstairs," he said.
Miners praise rescue workers, company
A number of the miners praised the rescue crews and the company, which they said did a good job training them for emergencies such as the fire.
"I just want to thank the rescue team," Burkholder said. "The management at the mine is great, supportive. I'd just like to thank them all."
Morrison said the rescue teams did a "great job."
"It just makes you feel better to know that the whole program that they do have there works really well. Everybody got out without getting hurt. Everybody was safe."
It was kinda cool to see my Dad's cousin being interviewed on CTV.
'All you had was your headlamp,' miner says
Last Updated Mon, 30 Jan 2006 17:04:19 EST
CBC News
Miners who were trapped in sealed underground rooms as a fire roared through a Saskatchewan potash mine say they tried to quell their fears by playing cards and debating rescue strategies.
FROM JAN. 30, 2006: All 72 miners surface after Saskatchewan fire
Yet several miners said they had no qualms about returning to work within days at the mine near Esterhazy, about 210 kilometres northeast of Regina.
"That's the risk of mining, I guess," said Luc Morrison, 26, who has worked at the Mosaic facility for 4½ years operating machines that chew through the pink rock.
'We tried to make up the best scenarios'
Morrison said it was a typical night shift until about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, when the lights went out. At first, he thought it was a power bump, but as the minutes ticked away in the gloom of the mine, it became clear it was something more serious.
"All you had was your headlamp," he said.
Word quickly spread that there was a fire in the mine. Morrison left in a truck to head to one of the emergency refuge stations, which had enough internal oxygen supplies to last at least 36 hours, as well as water, food, blankets, chairs and beds.
Four other men were in the room with him. They spent the next day trying to keep their minds busy, going over maps and trying to figure out where the fire was, Morrison said.
"We tried to make up the best scenarios," said Morrison, who comes from Beresford, N.B., and has many family members who are miners.
'We had oxygen bottles and some supplies there to keep a guy going'
Dan Bulischak, who had worked in the mine for about eight months, said his shift was just ending when the fire was spotted.
"We had good oxygen in there. We had oxygen bottles and some supplies there to keep a guy going," said Bulischak, who is from Russell, Man.
"A lot of us – most of us, if not everyone – knew we were fairly safe there because the smoke was going away from us, and everyone pretty much knew that. So the main concern of everyone was just to wait it out in that area, with a group of 30 guys sweating it out."
Kirk Burkholder said he spent the time trying to distract himself from thoughts of his wife and two young children.
"We all sat around and got a game of cards going and just kind of visited. And waited. And waited. And waited," Burkholder said.
"We weren't scared at all. It's something we're trained to do. Yeah, you got things running through your mind. ...how long is it going to take, are there other guys in trouble?"
'It was a good feeling to get upstairs'
It took emergency crews until midnight to extinguish the stubborn fire. After that, it took several hours to clear the smoke and toxic fumes before they could start removing miners from the refuge stations.
Morrison and his companions were able to speak to their families on radiophones on Sunday night but didn't reach the surface until about 6 a.m. Monday.
"It was a good feeling to get upstairs," he said.
Miners praise rescue workers, company
A number of the miners praised the rescue crews and the company, which they said did a good job training them for emergencies such as the fire.
"I just want to thank the rescue team," Burkholder said. "The management at the mine is great, supportive. I'd just like to thank them all."
Morrison said the rescue teams did a "great job."
"It just makes you feel better to know that the whole program that they do have there works really well. Everybody got out without getting hurt. Everybody was safe."
