The miners, tethered together for safety, are forced to find their way out. Once out of the mine, the crew boss re-checks that all men are out safely.

Luckily, the miners were participating in a simulation -- not a real emergency.

In the aftermath of the Sago mine tragedy, investigators discovered many of the self-rescuer units were not being used properly because the miners were not trained to use them. So, as part of the 2006 Miners Act, all mining companies are now required to simulate a mine fire to train miners.

But there's a major hang up: The equipment required is not readily available yet.

Because of that, a local mining company has teamed up with the fire academy to make sure they bring all their men home every time they go underground.

John Garcia, owner of mining company Parkwood Resources, said he simply wants his employees to be prepared when they go deep into underground mines in Indiana and Cambria counties.

The self-rescuers that will eventually be placed in the mines have been ordered, but, instead of waiting for them to arrive to provide the required training, Garcia's miners are getting a head start at the Indiana Fire Academy.

Each mine will contain 15 self-rescuer units containing enough compressed air to last an hour. However, trainers are teaching miners to get as many as eight hours worth of air out of each container.

Bill Hendrick, a miner, said, "The benefit to this is, in case of an emergency, we should know how to (put the equipment on) and to get out of a place in case we need to escape. ... Hopefully, we never get in that environment, but the potential is there everyday to have it happen."

Hendrick, who has spent 30 years in the deep mines, called the training a wake-up call.

"That was very different -- nothing that I really expected. I mean, I had no idea what I was going to come into and if that's what (a disaster) is going to be like ... then I sort of feel more comfortable."