Tahmoor Mines Rescue Teams the toast of the Coalfields after big win

News > 22nd June, 2022
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There’s another piece of silverware in the trophy cabinet at SIMEC’s Tahmoor Colliery in Australia after the mine’s CABA Rescue Team was crowned the winner of the highly competitive Southern Mines Rescue Station (SMRS) CABA Competition on 3 June.

After finishing last in 2021, the win was a huge turnaround for the team, which is made up of SIMEC Rescue Brigade members Adrian Rogers (captain), Joe Bassil (vice captain), Shane Fulko, Abbey Ullrich, Sam Bray and Dan Kouzan. The team was also hugely thankful to Tony Davis from the nearby Dendrobium mine who filled in after a late withdrawal.

While there is a competitive element to mines rescue competitions, they also provide an invaluable opportunity for the mines’ Rescue Brigade members to practise their emergency response skills.

The events are hotly contested in the Southern Coalfields, which is one of Australia’s best-known coal mining regions.

In this particular event, the team was faced with a number of challenging scenarios, including a firefighting scenario and an intense tunnel rescue with zero visibility.

SIMEC EGM of Coal Operations Peter Vale paid credit to the team and said with the CABA Trophy to be displayed at the mine, there was some friendly competition developing among the mine’s rescue teams.

“This is a fantastic result for the recently formed team and is a just reward for their dedication and hard work. It continues a rich history of success for Tahmoor Rescue teams and shows the strength that we have throughout our Rescue Brigades members. This win means we will now have two teams competing at the region’s main competition in August, which is an outstanding result for the mine.”

In a true team effort, Vice Captain Joe Bassill said the team was thankful to members of the mine’s number one team who helped them prepare for the competition.

“We trained and studied together to prepare for the competition and Kristian Evans and Mal Waterfall from the Tahmoor number one team spent a fair bit of their own time giving us advice, coaching and training. We’re all so pleased with the win knowing our hard work had paid off and that we had done the Company and the Mine proud. Most importantly, we are thankful to the volunteers and organisers of the event. While this is a fun day it is also a great opportunity to practice our skills in a simulated environment.”

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