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Hours after the
last of nine Quecreek, PA, miners trapped 200 ft. below the
surface had been plucked to safety, Pennsylvania Governor
Mark Schweiker summed up the feelings of most of us when he
announced, "What a beautiful ending! We're
nine for nine, and we got all of our guys out."
As the news unfolded
and we watched and waited as the rescue efforts proceeded,
I couldn't help but recall a similar rescue event more
than 50 years ago involving 3-year-old Kathy Fiscus, who fell
down an abandoned well near Los Angeles. I was 12 at the time,
and to this day it is still the single most memorable events
of my childhood.
The year was 1949,
and while some of the activities were carried live for the
local audience on the then-fledgling TV, radio was still the
primary mode of communication. For the 36 or so hours during
which rescue workers–mostly firemen from nearby towns–waged
a desperate campaign to extricate the girl from the pipe,
I clung to my radio with the tenacity of one who believed
that to leave it for even a second might spell disaster.
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My spirits rose
and fell with each new announcement, as time and again it
seemed that she was within reach–but not quite. All night
long workers struggled to secure her with a line, and just
before dawn rescuers succeeded and began the delicate task
of drawing her to the surface. As I, along with half the nation,
waited, hardly daring to breathe, the announcement came that
little Kathy had suffocated. Thus, a half-century later I
held my breath awaiting news of the trapped miners, fearing
they too would meet Kathy's fate, so when word came that all
nine men had survived their 77-hour ordeal, the relief I felt
was overwhelming.
Safety Rules
Are Written in Blood
What allowed these
men to survive? Let's look first at what the trapped
miners did to keep themselves alive for those 77 hours. First
off, they had the presence of mind and professionalism not
to panic. Instead they assessed their situation and took steps
immediately to combat hypothermia resulting from immersion
in 50ºF water by huddling together to preserve body heat
until a pipe ducting air heated to more than 100ºF arrived
to relieve them of some of the life-threatening danger, if
not the discomfort. But as all who have found themselves in
critical situations know, it was their training and discipline
that made the difference. After they found a drier spot, they
established a watch bill, roped themselves together to make
sure no one slipped off into the water, and took turns sleeping.
Throughout the ordeal they worked to dispel any sense of despair.
Above ground, fellow
miners ceaselessly worked the problem with the same tools–skid-steer,
excavator, and drill–they use in their everyday jobs
to reach the men in time. Meeting each difficulty with ingenuity
and confidence, they too were able to focus on successful
actions. Miners and construction workers share a similar legacy
in the day-in, day-out hazards they face in their jobs, which
have given rise to a large volume of written and unwritten
safety rules and guidelines. But without periodic reminders
through organized and toolbox training sessions, their lessons
can be lost. What was clear in what these men had to say about
the rescue was that their actions were steeped in a culture
of safety. They knew what had to be done without any long
discussions, and they flat went out and did it.
As Governor Schweiker
summed it up, "It's
a tribute to the ingenuity and the careful planning and action
by over 200 professionals."
Send
John an Email
GEC
- November/December 2002
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