Page 8 For decades the term Mine Rescue has been syno nymous with courage and legendary heroism Thanks to the select few who are willing to risk their own lives to save the lives of others Newmont Goldcorp Porcupine s Mine Rescue Competition T eam Overall Runner up and T eam Firefighting winners at the 70th Ontario Mine Rescue Provincial Competition in Red Lake June 201 9 In recognition of the tremendous ef fort of those gallant mine rescuers who have given of themselves to bring to safety others Newmont Goldcorp Porcupine salutes you NYSE NEM TSX NGT www newmontgoldcorpcom Newmont Goldcorp Porcupinepdf 1 8232019 92344 AM Ontario Mine Rescue born from ashes The Hollinger Mine Fire started around 9 am on Friday morn ing February 10 1928 on the 550 level in an unused stope No 55A east of the Number 12 crosscut where garbage had been piling for two years The dry garbage included saw dust woode n dynamite boxes parafn paper fuse ends One wit ness said he saw carbide from miners lamps dumped in the stope About 900 car loads of rub bish and waste were unlo aded at the location The pile was estimat ed to be 12 feet wide 100 feet long and 45 feet deep Smoke and poisonous gas from the fre spread through the 550 foot level and then through the stopes and raises above to the 425 foot and below to the 675 foot level T wo foremen George Pond and Godfrey Johnson were notifed by a cage tender named V aillancourt of the fre and they immediately met with mechanical foreman Al fred Prout At one point Prout tried to put out the fre at the 550level but that proved futile Pond in the meantime went to the surface to discuss with General Mines Superintendent CW Wil liams what should be done At 920 am the decision was made to immediately evacuate the em ployees out of the mine A total of 921 men reported to work at the Hollinger that day Most miners were located and brought to the surface and safety escaping via littleused passage ways and exits By noon all miners were safe ex cept for 59 who were missing and two who were confrmed as dead Distraught family members gath ered by the shaft head to look for husbands fathers and sons T im mins was devastated by the news The search for the miners was halted at 5 pm on Friday because the smoke had become too dense and too toxic to continue Calls for help were placed to the T oronto Fire Department and also to the Unites States Bureau of Mines On the morning of Saturday Feb ruary 1 1 an experienced mine rescue team from Pennsylvannia had boarded a steamengined train from Pittsburgh bound for T immins On the train was George McCaa the Bureau s Chie f of Pri mary Instruction and the inventor of the McCaa breathing apparatus which enabled rescuers to enter Contd on Pg 8 By Frank Giorno Page 6 1928 Hollinger Mine Fire