1957 — Dec 27, Pocahontas Fuel Co. coal mine #31 methane gas explosion, McDowell Co., WV–11

–11 AP. “Explosion Victims Identified…” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 12-28-1957, p. 1.
–11 Bureau of Mines. Final Report of Major Mine Explosion Disaster, No. 31 Mine… p. 1.
–11 United States Mine Rescue Assoc. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Pocahontas…”
–11 WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present

Narrative Information

Bureau of Mines Report Introduction: “An explosion occurred in the No. 31 mine of the Pocahontas Fuel Company Incorporated near Amonate Tazewell County, Virginia, about 6:35 p.m. Friday, December 27, 1957. Eleven men were killed by the explosion; all died from burns and/or forces. None of the other 147 men in the mine at the time of the explosion was injured; however, 14 men, including a foreman, were entrapped when forces of the explosion destroyed the section ventilation facilities (stoppings and an overcast). The 14 men erected a barricade in 2 right off Q left headings and remained behind the barricade until they were rescued about 4 hours later (12:00 midnight December 27) by a recovery crew; these men were in good physical condition when rescued….

“Bureau of Mines investigators believe that the explosion originated in No. 4 entry of Q left airway when an explosive mixture of methane-air was ignited by an electric arc or spark from the face electric equipment or power conductor. Forces of the explosion extended throughout the Q left airways to the junction of Q left airways and Q left headings and then spread right and left at the Q junction and were dissipated as they traveled right toward the man shaft and left toward the faces of Q left headings.” [p. 1]

“The No. 31 mine of the Pocahontas Fuel Company, Incorporated, is in McDowell County, West Virginia, near Amonate, Virginia….

“A total of 754 men was employed; 118 on the surface and 636 underground, 3 shifts a day, and produced an average of 6,500 tons of coal daily….” [p. 2]

“Numerous tests by the Bureau of Mines have shown that coal dust having a volatile ratio of 0.12 is explosive and that the explosibility increases with an increase in the volatile ratio. The volatile ration of the coal in this mine as determined from the aforementioned analysis is 0.25, indicating that the dust from this coal is explosive….

“Cause of the Explosion. The Federal investigators are of the opinion that the disaster was caused by the ignition of a large quantity of methane that had accumulated in the Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 entries of Q left airways during normal mining operations. Gas had accumulated in these working places as a result of short-circuiting of the ventilating current, which occurred when check curtains in No. 3 entry were opened or raised and fastened or destroyed while supplies were being procured from an outby location. The gas was ignited by an electric arc or spark from a piece of face electric equipment in No. 4 entry or from a trailing cable to this equipment. Coal dust in the immediate face areas entered into the explosion and aided in its propagation.” [p. 26]

(Bureau of Mines, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Final Report of Major Mine Explosion Disaster, No. 31 Mine, Pocahontas Fuel Company, Incorporated, McDowell County, West Virginia (Near Amonate, Tazewell County, Virginia). Originating Office, Bureau of Mines, Mount Hope, West Virginia.)
Newspaper

Dec 28, AP: “Amonate, VA. (AP) – The 11 miners killed in a coal mine explosion here yesterday were identified today by the Pocahontas Fuel Co., operators of the mine. The victims, their mine job, and survivors, are:

Archie Reece Alicia, 32, Rt. 1, Cedar Bluff, Va., brakeman; wife…3 children.
William R. Amos, 50, Warrior-mine, W. Va., fireboss; wife…7 children.
James Chiles, 51, Valls Creek, W.Va.; boom man; wife, 2 children.
Howard Fields, (no age), Bandy [VA] foreman; wife, 2 children.
Main B. Harrison, 43, Bandy machine operator; wife, five children.
Gilmer Eugene Monk, 26, Rt. 1, North Tazewell, Va. electrician wife…two children.
John Edmond Nunlay, 30, Rt. 1, Bluefield, Va., roof bolter; wife…four children.
Harman Boyd Perry, 50, North Tazewell, Va., motorman; wife…three children.
James Robert Rutherford, 28, Warriormine, W.Va. machine helper; wife…two children.
Lloyd E. Vest, 36, Freeman, W.Va., machine operator; wife, three children
Arnold W. Young, Newhall, W.Va., roof bolter; wife…five children.

“….Amonate is in southwest Virginia, 20 miles west of Bluefield, Va.-W.Va.

“Bodies of the dead were removed from the sprawling mine through a shaft located in West Virginia, nearly three miles from the main entry shaft where the survivors were brought out.

“This was the second disastrous explosion in Pocahontas Fuel Co. mines in the border coalfields in 11 months. A February gas explosion at a mine near Bishop, Va., snuffed out 37 lives.

“….An inquiry will be conducted by the West Virginia Department of Mines. West Virginia will made the inquiry because coal is taken out of Mine No. 31 on the West Virginia side of the border….” (Associated Press. “Explosion Victims Identified; Jobs, Survivors Listed.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 12-28-1957, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Explosion Victims Identified; Jobs, Survivors Listed.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 12-28-1957, p. 1. Accessed 2-22-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/winchester-evening-star-dec-28-1957-p-1/

Bureau of Mines, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Final Report of Major Mine Explosion Disaster, No. 31 Mine, Pocahontas Fuel Company, Incorporated, McDowell County, West Virginia (Near Amonate, Tazewell County, Virginia). Originating Office, Bureau of Mines, Mount Hope, West Virginia. Accessed 2-22-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/Pocahontas_31_1957.pdf

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Pocahontas Fuel Company Mine No. 31 Explosion.” Accessed 2-22-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/pocahontas_1957_news_only.htm

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present. MHS&T, October 9, 2008 update. Accessed 2-22-2023 at: https://minesafety.wv.gov/historical-statistical-data/wv-mine-disasters-1884-to-present/