[KentuckyHillBilly5321]

1. IMO the mining company handled the situation exceptionally with the exception of not going straight to the families when news came about they were alive. I pesonally would have stopped it at that point. But I can also understand on them waiting for 100% proof.
2. Yes, the brattice cloth that we would put up would hold back any gasses with the exception of small leaks, but it would also hold back anymore clean air coming in also. I would like to know myself how big of an area they blocked off. The more area you can block off the more air you have. I personally would have blocked my entire section off, 8 breaks wide and 4 breaks deep.
3. I accually told my wife I thought they might have done that when I heard he was the one alive. As a 34yr. old myself and as a foreman I would have felt it was my responsibility to give my SCSR (self contained self rescurer) to the younger men, if it came to that. Every mine I worked at we kept extra SCSR"s on the section and in different areas of the mines.
Questions I have myself to MSHA is, I would like to have know if it was a blowing or exhausting fan.(which could answer alot in this situation)I would assume it was a blowing fan. Meaning it blew the air in the mine. If this was the case I would have reversed the fan immediately after I found the intake brattices down. By doing this it would have pulled the gases out of the mine and fresh air down the bore holes they drilled which were on the section.

Like I said before--THANKS. It means a lot (to me) that you don't mind me pestering you with questions.

A couple more . .

*How big is a break?
*I understand what you mean about when the brattice would block off the gases and the clean air--
*But--if there were gases in the air, and the space would have been bigger--would it have given them a bigger percentage of breathing quality oxygen? (I know it is nearly impossible to answer this). I could understand that more area means more possible air, but wouldn't it be relational? (I can already see where it wouldn't be--depending on ventalation, etc).
*As far as the brattice goes--does it seal around the mine walls, floor, ceiling? Or is it like the morons on TV say (like a curtain).

On a different note--how do you mine coal in a mine like this? Is it done by hand (sorry if that sounds stupid) or machinery?

Thanks again for answering my questions. I hate to sound cliched--but these as soon as this deal happened--I took it to heart (which is not really like me). It ****es me off that they passed--but I think all of us (especially guys who have to work with the moron "business" types) would love to work next to people that care more about you than their self.