Summary
Commissioned by the Joint Coal Board, this is a dramatised film about mines rescue in New South Wales. Opening with a Co2 alarm, smoke in the mine and an emergency mine rescue car speeding through the night, the film introduces Bob Shardow, a new recruit to the mines rescue service. We see Bob being recommended for the role and performing health checks, along with scenes of miners training, working out and undergoing training. This is followed by a history of mine disasters in Australia and the Mines Rescue Service.
Next we see the testing and proper use of breathing apparatus, foam, fire firefighting, first aid, wall building underground, miners carried on stretchers, detector use, mines rescue teams underground and ropes and pullies.
This is followed be an extended emergency simulation as smoke fills a mine, charting the sequence of events on the surface and underground. This includes the rescue team being dispatched and other volunteers called at home, including Bob Shardow. We see the team prepping before going underground, carrying gas detectors and canaries, searching for men underground and the men finally found and rescued. The men are taken to the surface where they are checked by an ambulance crew. Men are then seen conducting a clean up mission, which is followed by a historical montage of mine explosions and headlines.
Special Notes/Achievements
This is the seventh of fifteen films in the Fitzgerald Collection.
Author: J Bird, 2023