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Coal mining was, and still is an extremely dangerous labor. Through all of the years of observation of the disasters here and abroad we still have unsafe mining conditions in our underground mines. Government regulation and enforcement is inadequate to overcome the greed of the owners and shareholders.Will we ever learn?
Coal Creek, TennesseeFraterville Mine Explosion May, 19, 1902Excerpt of article from Idaho Daily Statesman, Boise City, ID 20 May 1902Explosion in the Coal Creek District in Tennessee.NOT A MAN ESCAPES DEATHCoal Creek, Tenn., May 19. Between 175 and 220 men and boys met instant death at the Fraterville coal mine, located two miles west of this town, at 7:30 oclock this morning, because of a gas explosion..RESCUERS IMPEDED.As soon as possible two rescuing parties were started in, one at the main entrance, the other through the Thistle mine, which adjoins and in which men were at work. The Thistle party were unable to make any headway, as the gas stifled the workers. The Fraterville party went full two miles under the earth until a heavy fall of slate was encountered. At this barrier men worked desperately, hoping against hope that those beyond might be safe.NOT ONE FOUND ALIVE.All day long the rescuers toiled at the slate obstruction, and not until 5 oclock did they force an entrance through it. Up to that hour only five dead bodies had been recovered and hope was still high that many miners within were safe.The hopes of the living were doomed, however, for when once the rescuers had entered and proceeded, they walked along one continuous tomb of death. There was not a sign of life. .Fraterville Mine, Coal Creek. Tenn.; 184 KilledRead more here: http://www.gendisasters.com/data1/tn/mines/coalcreek-mineexp1902.htmFraterville Mine disasterFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaLocation: Leach Cemetery LaneLake City, TennesseeThe Fraterville Mine disaster was a coal mine explosion that occurred on May 19, 1902 near the community of Fraterville, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. 216 miners died as a result of the explosion, either from its initial blast or from the after-effects, making it the worst mining disaster in the state's history. The cause of the explosion, although never fully determined, was likely due to the build-up of methane gas which had leaked from an adjacent unventilated mine.Shortly after the disaster, the bodies of 89 of the 216 miners killed in the explosion were buried in what became known as the Fraterville Miners' Circle at Leach Cemetery in the nearby town of Coal Creek (modern Lake City). In 2005, this circle was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.The Fraterville Mine was one of several mines located in the coal-rich Cumberland Mountains of western Anderson County, Tennessee. The mine and its namesake community were situated near the heart of the Coal Creek Valley, a narrow north-south oriented valley slicing between Walden Ridge to the east and Vowell Mountain to the west. Tennessee State Route 116 connects Fraterville with Briceville to the south and Lake City to the north. This stretch of Route 116 has been renamed "Fraterville Miners Memorial Highway" in honor of the victims of the mine explosion.The explosion and recovery effortsThe Coal Creek Coal Company, organized by Knoxville businessman E.C. Camp, began work at the Fraterville Mine in 1870. Coal Creek Coal developed a reputation for fair contracts and fair pay, and the company's Fraterville Mine was considered one of the safest in the region. The company never took part in the state's controversial convict leasing system and paid in cash (rather than scrip), and thus avoided much of the labor unrest that plagued neighboring mines during the Coal Creek War in the early 1890s.According to the Tennessee Commissioner of Labor, the Fraterville Mine explosion occurred around 7:20 on the morning of May 19, 1902. The explosion shot black smoke and debris out the mine's mouth and ventilation shaft. Rescue efforts were organized by the mine's superintendent, George Camp (E.C. Camp's son), and a Welsh mine operator from nearby Jellico named Philip Francis. The initial rescue party penetrated to just 200 feet (61 m), however, before they were forced to turn back and await the dispersal of toxic gases.[2] A second rescue party entered the mine at 4:00 that afternoon, and using a makeshift venting system made of cloth and creosote, they inched their way into the main shaft,[1] where they observed the destruction, later reported by the Commissioner:Battrices had been destroyed, and along the main entry the force of the explosion was terrific, timbers and cogs placed to hold a squeeze were blown out, mine cars, wheels, and doors were shattered, and bodies were dismembered.Most of the miners were killed by the initial impact of the explosion, although 26 had managed to barricade themselves in a side passage. At least 10 were still alive seven hours after the explosion, but eventually succumbed to toxic air and lack of oxygen. Several miners wrote farewell messages to loved ones shortly before dying, stating they were struggling for air, and encouraging their families to "live right" so they would meet again in heaven.[2] The last body was removed from the mine four days after the explosion.AftermathThe cause of the explosion was a matter of controversy. The report issued by the Tennessee Commissioner of Labor stated that the explosion occurred when volatile gases that "had accumulated because of inadequate ventilation" were ignited by an open light. While the report stated that the shutdown of the mine's ventilation system over the previous weekend had allowed the dangerous build-up of the gases, ventil
To read some more about the Fraterville (Tennessee) Mining Disaster, go to: http://www.coalcreekaml.com/Legacy4.htm . This clip is from Keith McDaniel's Fraterville Mine Disaster Documentary which is still in the works. I'll post more info soon.