1893 — April 21, Mine Fire/Suffocations, Silver Bow No 2 Copper Mine, Butte, MT      —       9

— 9  Lima Times-Democrat, OH. “Fire in A Mine.” 4-22-1893, p. 1.

— 9  OMSHR, CDC. All Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present (website). 2-26-2013 update.

Narrative Information

April 22:  “Butte, Mon., April 22. – The timbers of the pump station in the 500-foot level of shaft No. 2 of the Butte and Boston Mining company’s mine caught fire, and nine miners were suffocated by smoke and gas. The fire is supposed to have originated from the explosion of a lamp. The shaft is now being flooded.  The dead are: James Nattio, Frank Girard, Richard Andrews, Thomas Gray, Evan Pughs, Antonio Beara, S. Rovetta, Edward Pascopf and Richard Tremeath.

“The officials of the mine state that the imprisoned men could have passed through into mine No. 1, but that they had probably become bewildered. Water is being poured into the mine at the rate of 350 gallons a minute, and men are fighting the fire from the 400 and 500 foot levels without result. The smoke is so dense that they can do but little to subdue the flames.”  (Lima Times-Democrat, OH. “Fire In A Mine. Nine Miners Suffocated by Smoke and Gas.” 4-22-1893, p. 1.)

 Sources

Lima Times-Democrat, OH. “Fire In A Mine. Nine Miners Suffocated by Smoke and Gas.” 4-22-1893, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=13952007&sterm

Office of Mine Safety and Health Research. All Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present. Atlanta, GA:  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed 5-24-2013 at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/content/allminingdisasters.html