Ontario Mine Rescue open to expanding mandate to assist with above-ground disasters
Elliot Lake inquiry recommended province look to mine rescue to improve emergency responses
The head of Ontario Mine Rescue says it's worth exploring whether the service could assist with structural collapses in buildings above ground.
The idea was among the 71 recommendations in the public inquiry report on the Elliot Lake mall collapse, released Oct. 15.
"There are some complexities associated with it, however, when horrible things happen, having our people available to assist is the right thing to do," said Alex Gryska, general manager for Ontario Mine Rescue.
The inquiry report noted one of the issues with the rescue effort at the collapsed Algo Centre Mall was how long it took for a heavy urban search and rescue team from Toronto to get to Elliot Lake and start the rescue.
Firefighters from Elliot Lake responded immediately to the roof collapse, but after initial searches, they had to be pulled from the unstable mall for safety reasons.
Ontario Mine Rescue has members located around northern Ontario, Gryska said, and could respond to structural collapses quickly.
"Certainly every mining community has a pool of responders. So Red Lake, Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Sudbury, we all have volunteers there," he said.
Similarities above and below ground
Gryska said some of the main issues that would have to be worked out if Ontario Mine Rescue was to expand its services include the release of the volunteer rescue members from their mining jobs to assist in an emergency situation as well as increased training and equipment.
"We do deal with collapsed environments underground where you get a rockfall, a rockburst," Gryska said.
"The type of material that could be displaced in a surface operation could be different. It could be bricks and mortar and wood material. But a lot of approaches to secure the material are similar."
Lucie Aylwin, 37, and Doloris Perizzolo, 74, died and 19 others were hurt in the Algo Centre Mall collapse.
The inquiry report said Perizzolo died almost instantly, but Aylwin likely survived for a period of time. The inquiry report left the question open as to whether Aylwin might have been saved, had the rescue proceeded more quickly.
Gryska, who appeared as a witness during the Elliot Lake public inquiry hearings last year, said Ontario Mine Rescue did offer its services in Elliot Lake in 2012, but the offer was declined by the rescue team.
The final inquiry report noted this was a mistake. It indicated rescue crews should have considered whether mine rescue expertise could have been of assistance.
So far, Gryska said no one from the province has contacted him about the possibility of expanding the mandate of mine rescue.
Ontario Mine Rescue has a long history. The service started in Timmins after a fire at the Hollinger Mine in 1928 killed 39 miners. The town or the province did not have the expertise to respond and fight the fire.
A provincial royal commission was struck after the tragedy in Timmins. It recommended the creation of an Ontario Mine rescue organization.