The one-day event, which will be overseen by the KCA-Madisonville mine rescue team and its director Danny Knott, will be held at the institution’s Mine Emergency Response Academy in Madisonville.

Knott said the KCA was excited to offer the competition, as it was another competing tool that could be used to sharpen the skills of miners nationwide.

“A regional skills competition is somewhat different than your traditional mine rescue competition in that more specialty elements are added, such as actual firefighting,” he said, adding that some other contests planned for the event include calibration of breathing instruments, administration of first aid while under a breathing apparatus, assessing the conditions of smoke-filled areas and even written tests.

The MERA facility also will organize a “control burn”, or a fire under supervised conditions.

“A training facility like MERA goes a long way in making miners more prepared if a disaster like a mine fire erupts,” Knott said.

“Having the almost real environment that MERA creates will make miners who undergo fire brigade training and take part in our regional skills competition better equipped and super prepared.”

Organizers said visiting out-of-state competitions and assisting with planning an execution of those events have left it well prepared to bring the first-of-its-kind contest to Kentucky. Similar events have taken place in the past in Beckley, West Virginia as well as Pennsylvania.

The members of the KCA mine rescue team will be on the other side of the table, serving as judges and aiding with competition logistics.

“We’re really looking forward to this and being the first to host a Regional Skills Competition in our area,” Knott said.

The winners of the KCA event will qualify for the 2012 National Mine Rescue Skills Championship in Beckley, West Virginia.