Last edit Dec 5, 2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–23 Bureau of Mines. US Dept. of Interior. Report of Mine Explosion, Sunnyside No. 1 Mine…

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

–23 United States Mine Rescue Association. “Utah Fuel Company Sunnyside No. 1 Mine Explosion.”

Narrative Information

Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior report on Sunnyside No. 1 Explosion:

“An explosion occurred at 3:12 p.m., May 9, 1945, in the Sunnyside No. 1 mine of the Utah Fuel Company, Sunnyside, Carbon County, Utah.

“Eighty-five men were employed in the mine at the time of the explosion. Twenty-three were killed by violence, burns, and afterdamp, and seven were hospitalized; fifty-five escaped unassisted. The seriously injured employees were sent to the hospital at Dragerton and six of them recovered within a few days from the effects of the explosion.

“As no damage was done to the ventilating fan or to the ventilating system outby the 2 dip section of the mine, the ventilation was soon restored in the affected area by men wearing oxygen breathing apparatus. Most of the bodies of the victims were recovered by noon of May 10, and the last body was recovered at 9:15 a.m. Friday, May 11.

“The most likely cause of the explosion was the ignition of an accumulation of methane near the face of the 3 left back entry, a return air course, off 2 left, 2 dip, by some means which exhaustive investigation did not definitely reveal. A defective or a mishandled flame safety lamp may have been the cause of the ignition; however, matches and smoking material were found on two of the deceased employees, and a nonpermissible pump, equipped with an open switch, was installed near the origin of the explosion….Smoking is forbidden underground….

….

“Bureau of Mines tests and experiments have shown that coal dust having a volatile matter to total combustible matter ratio in excess of 0.12 is explosive when in a dust cloud in the air, and that the explosibility of the coal dust increases as this ratio increases. The volatile ratio of the coal dust at this mine is 0.42.

….

“The mine is rated gassy by the Safety Division of the Industrial Commission of Utah….”

….

List of Deceased Miners

Name Occupation Age Dependents

Marium H. Bradak Ventilation and safety 56 1

James Jardine Face boss 43 2

James Wyoherly Shovel operator 37 4

Warren Hotchkiss Pipeman 52 0

Lawrence Figueroa Shovel operator 38 4

Clell Forsyth Machine operator 36 4

Virgil Stamper Machine operator 23 3

Ira Hill Machine helper 47 1

Nick Sandoval Motorman 27 4

Manuel Trujillo Nipper 27 6

Orvil Stubblefield Trackman 27 3

Thomas D. Vigil Trackman 83 2

Jose E. Montoya Trackman 39 5

Juan Martinex Timberman 37 6

Efran Manzanares Timberman 39 4

Irving M. Leonard Pipeman 48 4

Bud Walton Mason 55 1

James Gilmour Face boss 54 2

Joe D. Padilla Trackman 42 7

Pedro Galvaldon Faceman 51 0

James Bailey Timberman 40 1

Cornelio Dalla Corte Timberman 54 0

Denshiro Niitsuma Timberman 46 8

Total 72

Sources

Bureau of Mines. United States Department of the Interior. Report of Mine Explosion, Sunnyside No. 1 Mine, Utah Fuel Company, Sunnyside, Carbon County, Utah, May 9, 1945. Salt Lake City: Bureau of Mines Originating Office. Accessed 12-5-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/sunnyside_1945.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 Disaster in the United States. “Utah Fuel Company Sunnyside No. 1 Mine Explosion.” Accessed 1-5-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/sunnyside_news_only.htm

1945 — May 9, Utah Fuel Sunnyside No. 1 coal mine methane explosion, Sunnyside, UT–23