Advances in mine safety displayed

PRICE — Advancements in fire prevention and communication are giving the coal mine industry new promise for improved protection for workers in deep underground mines.

Improvements in fire suppression and wireless communication were on display Tuesday at the annual Utah Coal Mine Safety Conference.

Among the technologies exhibited were two products that could greatly improve firefighting inside underground mines like those found in Utah. The first was called Thermo-Gel, a gel concentrate which when added to water transforms into a fire-preventing and heat-absorbing fire-retardant gel.

Steve Simmons, vice president of Thermo Technologies LLC, based in Palo Cedro, Calif., demonstrated the product to the conference audience by spraying the chemical on his brother's pickup truck, then directing a 1,000-degree propane flame toward it without causing any damage.

Following that display, a second, equally impressive demonstration was conducted using Cold Fire, a product made by RDR Technologies LLC, based in Rockaway, N.J.

The suppressants in Cold Fire use water as a catalyst to remove the heat as well as encapsulate and break down the hydrocarbons in the fuel source to extinguish the fire more rapidly, spokesman Allen Crawford explained to the audience.

While Simmons used his brother's truck to demonstrate the effectiveness of his product, Crawford took an even more personal approach. After spraying his arm with his product, he then exposed his own flesh to a similar propane torch flame much to the amazement of everyone in the audience.

In addition to being very effective at fire suppression, the companies say, both products are nontoxic and environmentally friendly. In fact, both men ingested small amounts in order to prove their points.

The third technology on display was two-way wireless communication equipment — made by North Salt Lake-based Marshall Radio Telemetry — that could provide a system of reliable contact for miners in deep underground mines.

Though not yet approved for commercial use in mining environments, the technology could one day be the solution to the communication dilemma now facing the mining industry, according to the director of the Utah Office of Coal Mine Safety.

"I think that it would be an enhancement to the safety of the mines," Garth Nielsen told the Deseret News. He added that the two-way radio technology testing already has occurred in four mines in Carbon, Emery and Sevier counties, two of which he experienced first-hand.