Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus is recognizing Northern mine rescue teams. Angus spoke in Parliament this week, saying it’s a tough and dangerous job.
“In 1928, a fire broke out at the 500 foot level of the Hollinger Gold Mine in Timmins, but the closest train crew was over 1000 km away in Pennsylvania,” says Angus on the how the first provincial mine rescue team was born. “That crew boarded a special train that broke speed records, heading North through a brutal blizzard. But by the time they got there it was too late, and 39 men were dead. Out of that tragedy, Ontario established the first mine rescue office, in Timmins.”
Angus thanked different rescue teams for their historical work, including the crews who dealt with the McIntrye Fire, the 1984 rock burst at Falconbridge, and the 1993 Macassa disaster.
He gave his congratulations to teams that won recent Northern mine rescue competitions, including Team Dumas in Timmins.
“They remind us the greatest wealth that ever came out of a mine, were the miners coming home at the end of their shift.”