The Dräger Mine Rescue Vehicles MRV 9000 and MR Fire Truck are innovative solutions based on the needs of an ever-changing mining environment.

Mines evolve, they expand and get deeper, they move further from the portal. Mine rescue teams now have longer distances to travel before they arrive at the location of the emergency and only a limited amount of time is available with the breathing apparatus. The Dräger MRV 9000 and MR Fire Truck exactly target this challenge by providing safe transportation as close as possible to the incident and back for team and rescued miners without needing to activate the breathing apparatus. Consequently, the mine rescue teams have more time for their on-site mission.

The driver’s cabins and the rescue cassette are equipped with an air purging system. This system is independent of the ambient air and provides breathing air for the onboard personnel. Once a team member or the complete team has exited the vehicle equipped with personal breathing protection, the air flow in the relevant compartment can be manually reduced. As a result, breathing air from the onboard cylinders can be conserved to provide additional time for the overall mission. Once the team returns to the vehicle and the compartment has been successfully flushed, their individual breathing apparatuses are no longer required.

A gas monitoring system reliably measures the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide inside each vehicle and optional in the ambient air. If thresholds are exceeded or fall short, the onboard personnel will be warned by visual and acoustic signals. Thermal imaging and CCTV cameras installed outside of the vehicle support the driver’s orientation in forward and backward motion in a dusty, smoke-filled environment and can help detect trapped miners. Deep underground, where temperatures are extremely balanced and when no navigation adds are installed, a navigation package which combines the information from thermal imaging cameras and 24 GHz radar sensors into one picture, may enhance further the rescue vehicle’s capabilities.

The chassis of both vehicles have been designed by Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik GmbH, a renowned vehicle manufacturer specializing in mining applications. The chassis is well-tested, strong and robust for harsh underground mines conditions. In addition, cooperation with a specialized vehicle manufacturer enables low maintenance efforts as PAUS only uses components established and proven in mining and tunneling. By combining the knowledge and expertise of PAUS together with the well-known competence of Dräger in the field of rescue and refuge solutions, breathing protection and gas monitoring, the MRV family provides both quality and industry-specific design.

The renowned specialist for fire extinguishing equipment Rosenbauer completes the vehicle to make it an advanced fire-fighting truck for underground scenarios.

Close cooperation with our customers initiated and drove the development of a mine rescue solution based on the current and future challenges of a mine. The in-depth knowledge of our customer together with our competences made it possible to not only develop a mine rescue vehicle, but to create a customer driven innovative solution. Each component of the mine rescue vehicles mirrors the needs of the mine rescue team in deeper and longer mines taking mines rescue into the twenty-first century.

Facts as

• the robust design
• that each single part well selected
• the good off-road performance
• the superior transport capabilities
• the low total cost of ownership
• the customer’s ability to avoid loss of production time by reacting quickly on incidents
• the importance of having appropriate equipment to rescue people and save lifes

are making these vehicles to a highly profitable investment in comparison to conventional off-road trucks.