INA - Decidedly unMay-like temperatures and driving rains didn't stop 11 teams from giving their all in the annual Robert Earl Jones Commemorative Mine Rescue Competition Thursday at Rend Lake College.

"There is lots of camaraderie and good-natured competition, but they take this very, very seriously," Joe Angleton, director of the Illinois Office of Mines and Minerals, said. "They are the first responders, the people who, if we ever had a major problem, would be the first ones in a mine to rescue the people inside. They are very focused."

The teams came from both Illinois and Indiana, he said, to compete in the event named after the late Jones, a state mine inspector who played an important role in establishing mine rescue teams at each Illinois mine, and stressed the importance of disaster prevention and rescue efforts.

The teams compete against each other on a field where different mining conditions are simulated, Steve Kattenbraker of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said. Those conditions could include an unsafe roof or high levels of methane gas.

Teams are judged by the number of mistakes, or docks, made during each drill as well as the time it takes to complete the problem.

The rescue teams must compete in at least two such events each year as part of new federal regulations, Kattenbraker said.

"This is another part of their training. They train monthly and events like this are a way to showcase how well they are trained and how they cooperate and work together as a group. The training has always been important, but is much more focused since Sago," he said, in reference to the Sago Mine disaster in 2006 that trapped 13 miners in the West Virginia mine. Only one coal miner survived.

Angleton said the team members should be recognized for the work they do.

"These are very dedicated people who take time away from their families to prepare for an emergency they hope never happens and learn skills they hope they never have to use," Angleton said.

The winning team was from White County Coal's Pattiki Mine in Carmi.

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