1937 — July 15, Baker Coal Mine (Glendora Coal Co.) Gas Explosion, Sullivan, IN    —     20

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-15-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–20  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC.  Mine Disasters.

–20  US Bureau of Mines. Explosion in Baker mine, Glendora Coal Co., Sullivan, IN, 7-15-1937.

Narrative Information

US Bureau of Mines. Explosion in Baker mine, Glendora Coal Co., Sullivan, IN, 7-15-1937:

“An explosion occurred at somewhat after 7:00 a.m., July 15, 1937, in the Baker mine of the Glendora Coal Company, near Sullivan, Indiana. Twenty lives were lost and four men were seriously burned. Although about 175 men were in the mine, only the twenty-five men in one section were affected.

“The mine is opened by two shafts. Approximately 100,000 cubic feet of air per minute is forced into the mine. Officials, pumpmen, and brattice men use electric cap lamps; all others use carbide lamps, as the local union of the United Mine Workers of America fines other union employees $25 for wearing electric cap lamps. Electrical equipment is of nonpermissible types; however, permissible explosives are used, but in a nonpermissible manner, as fuse is used to fire the charge.

“The mine is gassy….

“On the morning of the explosion, the brattice man, wearing an electric cap lamp, went to the seals to examine them and to give them another coat of plaster….Suddenly there was a concussion or blast, followed in about 3 minutes by an explosion. Following the first blast, all of the men in the section, except the brattice man and…two others sent of 15 east face, came out to the main south, where the bodies of…seventeen men were found. The bodies of the brattice man and the two men sent to 15 east were found opposite 2 south, one of the sealed entries, from which the first blast probably came and either killed or injured them severely.

“It is believed that a heavy fall occurred in the sealed area, causing the first concussion or blast, forcing gas out onto 15 and 16 east entries. The men from the rooms in 15 east entry probably ignited the gas with carbide lamps….” (p. 1)

“This explosion is the direct result of short-sighted stubbornness of the miners as well as of some operators of Indiana in preventing the use of closed lights in the coal mines of this State. The seals were of a relatively flimsy construction and were also directly involved in this explosion. The Illinois-Indiana system of having the return air on the haulage road seriously handicapped the recovery work, this being but one of numerous instances where this handicap has been encountered in mine disasters in those States. The effectiveness of rock dust in limiting explosions was demonstrated, as it is thoroughly believed that rock dust prevented the explosion from becoming widespread with possible loss of the approximately 175 men in the time….”

Sources

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Safety and Health Research..  Mining Disasters (Incidents with 5 or more Fatalities). NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/disall.htm

and http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/content/allminingdisasters.html

United States Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior. Explosion in Baker mine, Glendora Coal Company, Sullivan, Indiana, July 15, 1937. Accessed 11-15-2024 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/1937_Baker_Mine_Report.pdf