Personal protection for daily and emergency use are never more crucial than in underground mining. MSA equipment recently saved 18 miners from near-certain death at a Mpumalanga gold mine when a fire filled their mining cavern with smoke. After donning their MSA 30/100 self-contained self-rescuers (designed to provide air during emergency air shortages), the miners escaped and returned to the welcome light above.

Les was working on a pile-driving site when he was hit on the head with a 65-lb.chunk of mud and concrete.Although his hardhat was destroyed and he did receive 14 stitches to the scalp, Les would probably have been killed if he had not been wearing head protection.

A Pennsylvania fire & rescue crew surveyed an automobile accident scene on an interstate highway, and picked up a victim who was lying near the overturned car. En route to the hospital, he regained consciousness and asked about his pregnant wife.

Back at the accident scene, two rescuers grabbed their MSA Thermal Imaging Cameras, searched a dark wooded area, and quickly found her about 200 feet away. She had wandered away from the accident scene, delirious with head trauma.

To the Owner of this company:
I just bought our [MSA Safety Works ®] safety glasses this past Saturday, because I like your design and also the mirror blue style, plus you added a free neck cord with the deal. Well, this past Monday I was working on the job when I pulled a nail that was attached to a very taut string line, when the nail shot straight up towards my face. Thank God I had your safety glasses on, because I would have lost my left eye. They might have a huge scratch in them, but my eye was saved — thanks to our excellent design!
Bob Crosetti

Darryl was trying to bull-rig a motor control center module that was positioned on concrete piers. A wire-rope choker that connected a 10-ton come-along to one of the concrete piers broke loose and freed the come-along. The come-along swung around the pier and struck Darryl in the head. HisV-Gard® Helmet deflected the force of the impact and undoubtedly saved him from serious injury.

Rick was attempting to open a valve manually on a high-pressure flash tank. The valve stem suddenly shot upwards and broke the valve bonnet, as well as the operating cylinder. The valve assembly and piping shook violently, and Rick was knocked off the pipe. Rick hit his head when he landed on the ground, but thanks to his V-Gard® Helmet, he avoided serious injury.

Eric, a ventilation installation supervisor, fell about three meters onto the steel deck of an offshore accommodation module bound for the Gulf of Mexico. Although he suffered some fairly serious injuries - fractured sternum, neck injury, and a few stitches to the back of the head - he credited his MSA V-Gard II hardhat (made in the United Kingdom) for staying in position during the fall and withstanding the initial impact with the deck, and "saving his neck." Important Note: Our V-Gard Cap is designed to protect wearers from the impact of falling objects, and is not meant to provide fall protection for the head.

Steve was operating equipment in an underground mine shaft when a large piece of rock fell from the ceil- ing of the tunnel.Debris rained down on Steve,and he was knocked to the tunnel floor.While he did receive minor injuries,Steve ’s Topgard ®Full-Brim Cap protected him from serious head injuries.

Neil was driving his scooptram through an underground passageway when he struck his head on a low back area. The forehead section of his hard-hat suspension was split instantly from the impact. While Neil did suffer whiplash, his Topgard® Hat saved him from serious injury or death.

According to the New York Daily News, FDNY officials credited an MSA TIC with helping to save lives after a fire on Manhattan's East Side consumed a two-bedroom apartment on the 24th floor, then spread to the floor above.

The first wave of firefighters rode up to the blaze in an elevator. Confronted with black smoke and hot spots of more than 1,000 degrees, they used MSA's Evolution® 4000 TIC to spot a ceiling of flame above them.

Firefighters in smoke-filled hallways used their TIC (which they had just received the day before) to direct water toward flames they couldn't see. Although 30 firefighters and residents were injured, no one was seriously hurt.

Robert, a fire captain in Columbia, S.C., was wearing his MSA Air Mask when he climbed the stairs in a burning two-story apartment. Suddenly, the roof collapsed and swallowed him. He was knocked to the floor and exposed to dense smoke and heat estimated at 2,500 degrees F. As he struggled to free himself and exit the building, his MSA Air Mask stayed in place, providing the fresh air needed to keep him alive. Robert and his equipment were ablaze as he escaped the hellish inferno, but he would live to fight another fire.

While positioning nylon chokers to lift and remove a reactor feed pump, a control link arm pivoted unexpectedly. The arm — weighing more than 200 lbs.— glanced off Jeffrey’s V-Gard® Helmet and knocked his safety glasses to the ground. While he received a small laceration above his right eye brow, his hat had prevented a direct hit and serious injury.

Gerald was working in Duke’s gas processing facility when he was struck in the head by a 1 ” pipe. The pipe, driven by 800 lbs. of pressure, broke the suspension of his MSA hardhat upon impact. The hat was then propelled more than 50 feet away from the site of the accident. But Gerald himself suffered only a slight concussion. Without the hard-hat, he surely would have received a life-threatening head injury.