the surface, Pennsylvania State Police were guarding the Quecreek mine site by 10:30p.m., and instructed reporters to go to the local church for a press conference scheduled to occur later that night. State Police Cpl. Robert Barnes Jr. also telephoned families of missing miners asking them to come to the Sipesville firehouse for more information. Around 11p.m., Barnes also asked United Methodist pastor, Barry Ritenour, if he could spend the night at the firehouse with the families. In addition, calls were made between 11:30pm and 12am to find a drill that could bore a hole big enough to raise men from a mine. One was located in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Water continued to rise in the mine during the morning hours of Thursday, July 25. During this time period, water levels rose to the portal entrance (by means inward from mine entrance portal), as follows: Rescue operations Initial response With the mine portal entrances to Quecreek mine nearly under water, rescue operations started immediately. While pumping water would begin at all mine locations and any nearby residential and commercial water wells, the mine rescue first focused on getting air to the trapped miners. With the help of Bob Long, an engineer technician for Civil Mining Environmental Engineering, GPS measurements were made and a borehole was begun at 2:05a.m. The borehole was drilled to allow air to be pumped into the mineshaft where the miners were presumed to be, at the most up dip location near where the Saxman mine was breached. A four-member team started working about 3:15a.m. Thursday, and its drill cracked through what turned out to be of rock, and into the mine shaft 1 hour and 45 minutes later. On July 25, at 5:06a.m., approximately 8 hours after the breakthrough, the hole was drilled into the mine. The drilling rig's air compressor pushed air into the mine, and the air returns from the borehole showed a marginal air quality of 19.3 percent oxygen. Rescue workers tapped on the inserted air pipe, and at 5:12a.m. received 3 strong bangs in response, followed by 9 taps at 11:40a.m. However, while the drilling rig's compressed air rapidly increased the oxygen content of the mine air, monitors showed the rising water was approaching above sea level, and rescuers feared they had perhaps an hour before the area where the miners had taken refuge would be under water. Mine ventilation expert John