Mine, agencies plan for the worst

Emergency responders from the Revett Mine in Troy, St. John’s Lutheran Hospital, Troy and Libby ambulance services and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department gathered Tuesday to review emergency protocol for responsiveness to an accident at the Troy Mine.

Bruce Vincent of Environomics and Renee Guisewite, the human resources and safety manager at Revett, coordinated the meeting. Vincent presented a draft 10-page Emergency Community Partnership Protocol booklet that officials reviewed with the intent of improving emergency responsiveness.

“If agencies are able to better coordinate efforts before an incident, it will mean a more-efficient response and that’s better for everyone,” said Capt. Kirk Kraft of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

The draft document included a basic definition of what qualifies as an emergency and through a process of protocols, defined the procedures for contacting emergency responders — including firefighters, ambulance-service and air-evacuation personnel — law enforcement, coordinating efforts to affected family members and dealing with the expected onslaught of media requests for information.

The protocol booklet, which Vincent agreed with be updated, also included contact information for decision-makers at the mine as well as contact information for principal partners in a rescue operation.

“We can’t anticipate what will happen, so we have to be prepared, and this will help us,” Vincent said. 

The gathering lasted about 70 minutes with further meetings to be scheduled.