1945 — Dec 26, KY Straight Creek Coal Belva No. 1, coal mine gas explosion, Fourmile, KY– 25
Compiled Nov 22, 2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–25 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mine Disasters.
–25 US Bureau of Mines. Final Report of Mine Explosion and Fire, Belva No. 1 Mine…Dec 26.
–18 almost immediately by flame, violence or afterdamp
— 4 about 7 hours after the explosion from afterdamp
— 1 about 50 hours after explosion while awaiting rescue
— 1 in hospital after rescue (54 hours after explosion), 2nd day following rescue
— 1 several months after rescue
–24 Berger, Croll and Laporte (Eds.) Towards a Comparative History of Coalfield… 2005,p.78.
–24 United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the [US]. “Kentucky Straight…”
Narrative Information
Berger, Croll and Laporte: “After the explosion, the entry to the mine was sealed, with 20 bodies still inside. The area was known for its poverty….Not only was this community without adequate water supply but…the homes were without electricity as well, since the mining company which had supplied it shut down following the explosion at the Belva mine in December 1945.” (Berger et al., 2005, 78)
Bureau of Mines. Final Report of Mine Explosion and Fire, Belva No. 1 Mine…Dec. 26, 1945:
Introduction
“An explosion occurred in the Belva No. 1 mine of the Kentucky Straight Creek Coal Company at Fourmile, Bell County, Kentucky about 8:20 a.m., December 26, 1945. Thirty one men, including 2 from another of the company’s mines, were in the mine at the time of the explosion. Of this number, 18 were killed almost immediately by flame, violence or afterdamp; 4 died about 7 hours after the explosion from afterdamp; 1 died about 50 hours after the explosion while awaiting rescue; 1 was rescued about 54 hours after the explosion and died in a hospital the second day following his rescue and 1 man died several months after he was rescued. Six men rescued about 54 hours after the explosion survived.
“The 6 survivors, the 2 men who later died, and the man who was with them and was found dead erected an ineffective barricade consisting principally of an old mine door in the entrance to a place that was relatively free from strong concentrations of afterdamp.
“The disaster was caused by the ignition of an accumulation of methane which in turn ignited coal-dust, resulting in the propagation of flame throughout the greater portion of the mine. Coal dust was not allayed nor was the mine rock-dusted….” (p. 1.)
Mine Rescue
“None of the employees had been trained in mine rescue procedure. Neither self-contained oxygen breathing apparatus nor gas masks were maintained by the company; and the nearest available mine recue equipment, owned by the Pioneer Coal Company, is at Kettle Island, Kentucky, about 14 miles from the Belva No. 1 mine.
Fire Fighting
“Neither surface nor underground fire-fighting organizations were maintained, and there were no means of combating fire on the surface or in the mine….” (p. 8)
(Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior. Final Report of Mine Explosion and Fire, Belva No. 1 Mine, Kentucky Straight Creek Coal Company, Fourmile, Bell County, Kentucky, December 26, 1945. Jellico, TN (originating office): Bureau of Mines (40 pages).)
Sources
Berger, Stefan, Andy Croll and Norman Laporte (Eds.). Towards A Comparative History of Coalfield Societies (Studies in Labour History). Ashgate Publishing, 2005, 287 pages. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Hm95KBSc-kwC
Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior. Final Report of Mine Explosion and Fire, Belva No. 1 Mine, Kentucky Straight Creek Coal Company, Fourmile, Bell County, Kentucky, December 26, 1945. Jellico, TN (originating office): Bureau of Mines (40 pages). Accessed 11-22-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/1945_Belva.pdf
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 Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the [US]. “Kentucky Straight Creek Coal Company, Belva No. 1 Mine Explosion, Fourmile, Bell County, Kentucky, December 26, 1945, No. Killed – 24.” Accessed 11-22-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/belva_news_only.htm