Mine Emergency Response Plan: The Paper That Prepares You for Disaster

Annual Emergency Preparedness Knowledge Examination Paper for a Certain Mine

Examination Subject: Practical Skills in Mine Emergency Preparedness and Response
Examination participants: All underground workers and management personnel.
Exam duration: 90 minutes
Full marks: 100 points
Passing score: 80 points (Those who fail must take a make-up exam; those who fail the make-up exam are not permitted to enter the mine.)
Exam Date: June 28, 2026

Candidate Information:

I. Multiple-Choice Questions (4 points each, 20 points total)

1. When a fire breaks out underground, what should you do first?

A. Immediately run in the direction of the intake airway to evacuate.
B. Immediately run in the direction of the return airway to evacuate.
C. Determine the wind direction and evacuate upwind.
D. Determine the wind direction and evacuate downwind.

Answer: C

Analysis: The general principle for escaping an underground fire is to retreat against the wind—i.e., evacuate in the direction opposite to the airflow, toward the source of fresh air (the intake shaft), while staying clear of smoke and toxic gases.

One exception: if the fire occurs on the intake side, the airflow direction is from the main shaft (intake) to the return air shaft. When the fire is on the intake side, toxic gases are carried by the airflow into the working face; in this case, personnel in the working face should evacuate upwind toward the intake shaft.

Key principle: Evacuate against the wind.

2. What is the alarm threshold for the gas sensor?

A. 0.5%
B. 1.0%
C. 1.5%
D. 2.0%

Answer: B

Analysis: When the gas concentration reaches 1.0%, the sensor triggers an alarm. At 1.5%, the power supply to all non-intrinsically safe electrical equipment in the area must be disconnected. At 2.0%, immediate evacuation is required.

Three numbers—1%, 1.5%, and 2%—correspond to three actions: alarm, power cut, and evacuation. Remember these three figures just as you would the red, yellow, and green lights of a traffic signal. Green below 1%—normal; yellow between 1% and 1.5%—warning; red above 1.5%—danger.

3. Approximately how many minutes is the effective usage time of a self-rescuer?

A. 15 minutes
B. 30 minutes
C. 60 minutes
D. 120 minutes

Answer: C

Analysis: Chemical oxygen self-rescuer The rated usage time is approximately 40–60 minutes under moderate labor intensity. The compressed‑oxygen self‑rescuer provides about 45–60 minutes of operation.

60 minutes—this is the maximum amount of time you can breathe in a toxic environment. You must evacuate to a safe area within 60 minutes. If you fail to do so, your self-contained breathing apparatus will be depleted, and you will no longer have respiratory protection.

At a certain mine, the distance from the farthest working face on the –420 level to the main shaft exit is approximately 1,200 meters. The walking evacuation speed is about 50 m/min (normal walking under underground conditions). 1,200 / 50 = 24 minutes. 24 minutes < 60 minutes—under normal circumstances, this is sufficient.

However, if the tunnel contains smoke, falling debris, or overcrowding, the evacuation speed may drop to 20 m/min. 1,200 / 20 = 60 minutes—just enough to meet the required time limit.

That’s why evacuation routes must follow the shortest path—not the most familiar one, but the shortest. For every additional 100 meters traveled, you’ll consume an extra 2 to 5 minutes of oxygen from your self-rescuer.

4. If you discover someone has suffered an electric shock underground, what should you do first?

A. Immediately pull the person who has suffered an electric shock away from the power source using your hands.
B. Call for help immediately
C. Immediately disconnect the power supply or use an insulating object to separate the victim from the source of electricity.
D. Immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the electrocuted person.

Answer: C

Analysis: Pulling an electrocuted person directly with your hands will result in your own electrocution. Underground voltages of 380 V or 660 V can be fatal within 0.1 second of contact.

Correct procedure: First, disconnect the power supply (by tripping the circuit breaker or switching off the switch). If you cannot quickly cut off the power, use an insulating object—such as a dry wooden stick, a rubber rod, or insulated gloves—to separate the victim from the source of electricity.

Perform CPR only after disconnecting the power—do not attempt to rescue the victim first and then cut the power. If you reverse the order, you could become the second person to suffer an electric shock.

5. What are the early warning signals for a tailings dam failure?

A. The water level inside the reservoir rises sharply.
B. Cracks, seepage, and displacement in the dam body
C. Sudden cessation of flow in the downstream river channel
D. All of the above

Answer: D

Analysis: Prior to a dam failure, three warning signs may emerge—abnormal water-level rise (due to failure of the dam’s drainage system), seepage and displacement associated with cracks in the dam body (indicating structural instability), and cessation of flow in the downstream river channel (suggesting that internal collapse has already occurred while surface deformation remains inconspicuous).

If any one of the three warning signs appears, activate the dam‑break emergency response plan immediately. There is no need to wait for all the signs to manifest before taking action—by the time they have all appeared, it may already be too late.

II. Calculation Problems (15 points each, 30 points total)

6. Evacuation Time Estimation

A fire broke out in the No. 5 mining area at the –420 level of a certain mine. The No. 5 mining area is located 1,500 meters from the main shaft’s safe exit. Under normal conditions, the underground evacuation rate is approximately 50 m/min; however, following the fire, smoke reduced visibility, slowing the evacuation to about 30 m/min. The self-rescuer has a rated service life of 60 minutes.

Please calculate:
① How many minutes does it take to evacuate under normal conditions?
② How many minutes does it take to evacuate under fire conditions?
③ Is the self-rescuer’s duration of use sufficient?
④ If it is insufficient, what is the maximum safe evacuation distance?

Reference solution:

① Normal conditions: 1,500 / 50 = 30 minutes ✅ Sufficient

② Fire conditions: 1,500 / 30 = 50 minutes ⚠️ Approaching the limit

③ Self-rescuer: 60 minutes > 50 minutes—barely sufficient, but with only a 10-minute margin.

④ If the evacuation speed is slower (20 m/min):

1,500 / 20 = 75 minutes > 60 minutes — not enough!

Maximum safe evacuation distance = Self-rescuer operating time × Minimum evacuation speed = 60 × 20 = 1,200 meters

If the No. 5 mining area is more than 1,200 meters from a safe exit, self-rescue and evacuation would be impossible under smoky conditions.

This means that at any working location underground, the distance to the nearest safe exit must not exceed 1,200 meters. Areas exceeding 1,200 meters must be equipped with… Shelter Chamber (Emergency shelter space) provides additional oxygen, water, and communication.

Standards for the configuration of refuge chambers in a mine:

7. Emergency Response Time Chain

A gas explosion occurred in a mine. The emergency response procedure is as follows—

Please calculate:
① What is the total response time from the occurrence of the incident to the arrival of the injured at ground-level medical facilities?
② If sensor alarms are replaced by manual inspections (conducted every 2 hours), what is the latest possible time of detection? What becomes the total response time?
③ What is the time difference between the two?

Reference solution:

① Total time = 0 + 15 + 60 + 30 + 120 + 30 + 600 + 1200 + 900 + 180 = 3,135 seconds ≈ 52.25 minutes

② Latest detection time for manual inspection = 120 minutes (2-hour inspection interval)

Total time = 120 + 15 + 60 + 30 + 120 + 30 + 600 + 1200 + 900 + 180 = 4,335 seconds ≈ 72.25 minutes

③ Gap = 72.25 - 52.25 = 20 minutes

20 minutes—sensor alarms trigger 20 minutes faster than manual inspections.

What does 20 minutes mean?

Following an underground gas explosion, the survival time of trapped personnel depends on the severity of their injuries, the concentration of smoke, and whether they have access to self-rescuers.

Mild injury + self-rescuer available + moderate smoke: survival time approximately 60–90 minutes.
Severe injury + no self-rescuer + heavy smoke: survival time approximately 15–30 minutes.

15–30 minutes of survival time versus a response time of 72.25 minutes—severely injured patients may die before help arrives.

If the sensor triggers an alarm: a response time of 52.25 minutes means that mildly injured individuals are highly likely to survive, while severely injured patients still have a 30-minute window for survival, giving rescuers a chance to arrive in time.

A 20-minute gap—not an efficiency gap, but a matter of life and death.

III. Situational Judgment Questions (10 points each, 30 points total)

8. Scenario: You are the shift foreman at heading face No. 3, Level -420. At 2:00 p.m., the local ventilation fan suddenly stops. Upon hearing the sound of the fan shutting down, the working face immediately becomes stuffy and hot.

Please rank the following actions by priority (1 = do first, 5 = do last):

A. Open the self-rescuer and prepare to use it.
B. Notify the dispatch room by telephone that the fan has been shut down.
C. Organize team members to evacuate toward the intake airway.
D. Verify that the wind power interlock has been de-energized.
E. Place warning signs at the tunnel face entrance to prohibit unauthorized entry.

Standard answer priority: C > A > B > D > E

Analysis:

C takes top priority—human life comes first. When the fan stops, it means gas is about to accumulate. Regardless of whether the interlock has cut off power, evacuating personnel first is the safest course of action.

Second: Activate the self-rescuer during evacuation. Even if the gas concentration is currently low, you may pass through smoky areas on the way out. Have your self-rescuer ready in advance, and switch to it within seconds when needed.

B Third—Notify the dispatch room. Make a call during the evacuation or once you have reached a safe area. Inform ground personnel that the fan has been shut down and that personnel are evacuating—this will enable the dispatch center to activate a broader emergency response.

D Fourth—Inspect the interlock. This is not the team leader’s primary responsibility; the team leader’s top priority is to lead personnel to safety. Whether the interlock has de-energized the circuit is the electrical technician’s job. Moreover, if the interlock has properly cut power, there will be no electricity at the working face—so even if you check, you won’t see anything. And if the interlock has failed to de-energize the circuit, you should certainly not remain at the working face to inspect—it could harbor an arc capable of igniting methane.

Finally—set up warning signs. You have already evacuated; do this in a safe area. Alternatively, the control room may assign other personnel to place warning signs on the intake side.

Core principles: Evacuate > Self‑rescue > Report > Inspect > Mark. Human life always comes first.

9. Scenario: While walking in the -350 transport roadway, you hear a muffled bang and feel vibrations ahead, followed by thick smoke beginning to fill the tunnel. You are unsure of what has happened up ahead.

How should you determine the wind direction and choose an evacuation route?

Reference Answer:

① Observe the direction of smoke flow—smoke spreads along the wind current. The direction from which the smoke is coming corresponds to the upstream side of the airflow.

② Evacuate with the wind—follow the smoke. The smoke will be carried toward the return air shaft; head in that direction as well. The return air shaft is a safe exit.

③ Do not run against the wind—running into the wind means you’re heading toward the fire or the blast point.

④ If you cannot determine the wind direction, take shelter immediately in the nearest refuge chamber. The refuge chamber is equipped with an independent oxygen supply, allowing you to wait for rescue.

⑤ Activate the self-rescuer—In heavy smoke, CO concentrations may exceed lethal levels (above 400 ppm). Without the protection of a self-rescuer, a person can survive in dense smoke for approximately 3 to 5 minutes.

Key formula: The lethal concentration of CO is approximately 1,600 ppm after 30 minutes of exposure. Symptoms of poisoning begin to appear at concentrations above 400 ppm. In the dense smoke of underground fires, CO levels can reach 5,000–10,000 ppm—without self-rescuer protection, a person can lose the ability to move within 1–2 minutes.

10. Scenario: You are the mine manager. You receive a report from the dispatch room: a gas explosion has occurred at the 420-level; preliminary estimates indicate three people are trapped, and two injured individuals have already evacuated on their own. The rescue team has been dispatched.

While waiting for the rescue team’s search results, what decisions do you need to make? Please list five and explain your reasoning.

Reference Answer (Scoring Criteria: Reasonableness + Priority):

① Immediately activate the mine-wide evacuation plan. — Even if the explosion affects only a localized area, the risk of a secondary explosion remains. The safest course of action is to evacuate all personnel from the mine to the surface. Reason: Following a gas explosion, coal dust may ignite in a secondary blast, with a far wider impact zone than the initial explosion.

② Notify the superior emergency management authority. — Major accidents must be reported within one hour. Rationale: Regulatory requirements and the possibility for higher-level authorities to deploy additional rescue resources.

③ Cut off all power at the -420 level. — Disconnect from the ground‑level substation to eliminate the risk of a secondary detonation. Reason: Following the initial explosion, electrical equipment may be damaged, and the risk of a secondary arc‑induced ignition is extremely high.

④ Prepare medical treatment resources. — Notify nearby hospitals to prepare for the reception of casualties and arrange emergency vehicles to wait at the wellhead. Reason: Immediate medical care is required upon the evacuation of injured personnel.

⑤ Assign a dedicated person to record and report. — Designate a dedicated person to handle accident reporting, casualty statistics, and family notifications. Reason: Information chaos is the most significant challenge in the early stages of an accident—there must be someone specifically responsible for information management.

IV. Essay Question (20 points)

11. Please discuss why “not using a contingency plan is equivalent to having no contingency plan.” Based on the current status of a certain mine’s emergency response plan, propose three recommendations for improvement.

Key points of the model answer:

Current Issues — The emergency response plan of a certain mine suffers from the “three no’s”:

① Lack of familiarity: 70% of underground workers have not read the full text of the emergency response plan. 50% are unaware of the evacuation routes for their assigned area.

② No drills: Emergency response plans require at least one comprehensive drill every six months. In one mine, the actual drill frequency is approximately once per year, and most of these are “tabletop exercises”—conducted as discussions in the office, without any on-site, hands-on implementation.

③ No updates: The emergency response plan was developed in 2022. Since then, the underground layout has been adjusted multiple times—newly added are the East Wing mining area at the −420 level and a 200-meter extension of Heading No. 3—but the evacuation route map in the plan remains based on the 2022 roadway layout.

Three suggestions for improvement:

Recommendation 1: Quarterly Real-World Drills

A quarterly live‑underground evacuation drill—no tabletop exercise, but a real‑world underground operation involving the actual donning of self‑rescuers and a genuine walk along the designated evacuation route.

Exercise time estimation:

The No. 5 mining area is located 1,500 meters from the safety exit. The simulated evacuation speed was approximately 30 m/min under smoky conditions. 1,500 / 30 = 50 minutes.

Including preparation and debriefing time, a single drill takes approximately two hours.

4 times per year × 2 hours = 8 hours per year—accounting for 0.4% of the annual working time. The cost is extremely low, while the returns are exceptionally high.

Recommendation 2: Update evacuation route signage.

In underground roadways, an evacuation‑direction sign is installed every 50 meters—featuring an arrow pointing toward the nearest safe exit, along with distance and estimated evacuation time.

Evacuation time indicator = Distance / Minimum evacuation speed

Example: 500 meters from the nearest emergency exit → 500 / 20 = 25 minutes (under smoky conditions)
1,000 meters from the emergency exit → 1,000 / 20 = 50 minutes
1,200 meters from the emergency exit → 1,200 / 20 = 60 minutes (self-rescuer limit)

For identification points exceeding 60 minutes, the “Direction to the Refuge Chamber” must be marked alongside.

Following the adjustment of the roadway layout, the signage is updated accordingly. Who is responsible for this update? The tunneling crew—each time a new section of roadway is extended, they install signage at the end of that section.

Recommendation 3: Integrate emergency preparedness knowledge into pre-employment training.

Before entering the mine, new workers must pass an emergency‑response knowledge assessment (this is the exam paper). Those scoring below 80 points are prohibited from entering the mine.

Veteran workers—must retake the examination annually. Those who fail twice in a row will have their qualification to work underground suspended.

The average score for the 2025 emergency preparedness knowledge assessment at a certain mine was 62 points, with a failure rate of 38%.

38% of workers are unqualified—meaning that 38% of underground miners do not know how to save themselves in the event of a disaster. This is not a matter of knowledge—it is a matter of life and death.

Scoring criteria: 10 points for clear and logical argumentation, 10 points for relevance to real-world contexts, and 10 points for the feasibility of proposed improvements (no penalty for exceeding the maximum score; maximum total score: 30 points).

The exam is now over. Please check your answers and submit your paper.

Finally, a reminder: this is not an exam. It’s insurance you’re buying for yourself. If you don’t pass the exam, you can retake it. But if you don’t pass the disaster preparedness test—there’s no retake.

Eighty points is the passing score. But scoring 80 doesn’t mean you’ll be able to make the right decisions in a real emergency. The true test isn’t on this piece of paper—it’s in the thick smoke underground, amid the sound of the ventilation fan shutting down, and at the very moment you activate your self-rescuer.

Back then, no one handed you multiple-choice questions. There was only one path: you had to determine your direction within 30 seconds, complete a 1,500-meter course in 50 minutes, and ensure the self-rescuer remained intact for the full 60 minutes.

This exam paper is for previewing the material. The real exam is something you hope never to face—but if it does come, at least you’ll have already studied in advance.