New Hope Group’s Bengalla Mining Company has won three major awards at the Hunter Valley Mines Rescue Open Cut Competition, where emergency response teams went head-to-head in a series of high pressure, real-world mining emergency simulations.

Bengalla Mining Company was crowned Overall Champions, took home the Ambulance Shield for excellence in first aid, with Scott Fulloon also recognised as the Best Captain.

Eight emergency response teams competed in the event which mimicked the unpredictable nature of mining emergencies, including:

• Rescuing trapped mine workers from smoke-filled buildings.
• Managing diabetic events in heavy vehicle operators.
• Extracting casualties from burning vehicles.
• Executing complex stretcher lower operations from heights.

Bengalla Mining Company Team Captain, Scott Fulloon said the time-critical challenges tested the technical, and mental resilience skills of the teams.

“The win reflects the hard work and dedication of the entire team,” Mr Fulloon said.

“We faced some daunting challenges during the competition, which imitated real life incidents, including exercises to evaluate hazard awareness, vertical rescue, first aid skills, and firefighting.”

New Hope Group CEO, Rob Bishop said Bengalla Mining Company’s three awards recognise the operation’s commitment to safety.

“Bengalla Mining Company’s rescue capability has continually improved over the past few years,” Mr Bishop said.

“The win recognises a lot of hard work and practice under the guidance of team captain Scott Fulloon and team manager Emma Reynolds.”

It’s the second time Bengalla Mining Company has won the Hunter Valley Open Cut Competition in the past three events.

Bengalla Mining Company’s team included Scott Fulloon, Jason Allen, Matt Dunn, Liam Walker, Tim Grainger, Rod Howard, Kristy Orlowsky, and team manager Emma Reynolds.