1936 – Sep 2, Hutchinson Coal Co. MacBeth Mine gas & dust explosion, Macbeth, WV– 10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-18-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  NFPA. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life, Third Quarter, 1936.” Quarterly, 30/2.

–10  US Bureau of Mines. Gas and Dust Explosion, MacBeth Mine…MacBeth, WV…Sep 2, 1936, p. 1.

–10  WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training.  WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present

Narrative Information

US Bureau of Mines. Gas and Dust Explosion, MacBeth Mine…MacBeth, WV. 9-2-1936, p.1:

“An explosion of gas and dust occurred between 1:15 and 1:30 p.m., September 2, 1936, in the MacBeth mine of the Hutchinson Coal Company, at MacBeth, W. Va., resulting in the death of 10 men, 8 of whom died as a result of burns and violence, and the injury of 1 man due to inhalation of afterdamp. This man was rescued and revived after the explosion. No men tried to protect themselves by a barricade, however, 2 of the men could have saved themselves if they had remained in the working place or erected a barricade. The accident undoubtedly resulted from ignition of gas by a cable-reel locomotive near the face of 14 room off right entry. The flame was restricted to 12 and 13 right entries….” (p. 1.)

“It was the opinion of the State inspectors that the explosion was caused through the ignition of an accumulation of an explosive body of methane by an arc from a cable-reel locomotive, probably caused when the switch governing the cable-reel was turned on. The accumulation of gas was believed to have been caused by leaving open a door in room 14, in which room the explosion occurred.” (p. 22.)

Sources

National Fire Protection Association. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life, Third Quarter, 1936.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 30, No. 2, Oct 1936..

United States Bureau of Mines. Final Report, Gas and Dust Explosion, MacBeth Mine, Hutchinson Coal Company, MacBeth W. Va. September2, 1936. Wahington, DC: Department of the Interior. Accessed 11-18-2034 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/Macbeth_1936.pdf

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present. MHS&T, October 9, 2008 update. At: http://www.wvminesafety.org/disaster.htm